Local and ‘diaspora’ connections to country and kin in central Cape York Peninsula

This paper examines the connections to country and kin asserted by ‘local’ and ‘diaspora’ peoples in the central Cape York Peninsula, focusing on the relationship between these assertions and the land claims within which they are commonly embedded. Distinctions in the forms of Aboriginal land tenure and kinship between the two sets of people are discussed, examining historical differences which have led to their development and the ways in which these distinctions can become the focus of schisms in land claims. It is suggested that, beyond past commonalties and connections, fundamental contemporary principles can be seen as common to both groups, providing a useful focus for claims in which such schisms are apparent.