j8 BURNJNG MT. KETLY: ABORIGTNËS AND']]IIII AD}IINISTRATÏON OF SOCTAL b]ETù-ARE TN CET'ITRAI, AUST'R.ALTA JEFFREY REf D COLLMANN, B '4. M"A. (ECON" ) Department of AnthropologY The UniversitY of Adelaide 23rd I'lay, L979 J- TABLB OF CONTENTS Tit1e page Tabl-e of Contents t Brief Summary l-t Disclaimer ].V Acknov¡Led.gements V Introduction I Chapter I The Policy of "Self-d.etermination" ancl the Fraqmentation of Aboriginal A<lministratjon i,n Cent-ral Austral-ia L4 Chapter 2 Racial Tensic¡n ancl the Politics of Detriba lization 46 Chapter 3 Frirrge-camps and the Development of Abori.ginaI Adrnj-njstr:ation in Central Aust-ralia oa Chapter 4 lr]c¡men, Childrett, and the Siqni.ficance of the Domestic Group to Ur:l¡arr Aborigines in Central Australi a 127 Chap-Ler 5 Men, Vüork, and the Significance of the Cattle Industry to Urban Fr-inge-Cwel-lers in Central Australia l5:6 Chapter 6 Food, Liquor, and Domestic Credit: A Theory of Drinking among Fringe-dwellers i.n Central Austra l.ia I86 Chapter 7 Violenc,e, Debt and the Negotiat-íon cf Exchatrge 21.r Chapter 8 Conclusirln 256 Appendix J. The Strr¡et-,ure alrd Development of the Centl:a1 Ar:stral-ian Cattle Industry 286 Apper-iCix IT l'lork Careers of Mt" Kelly Aclul.ts 307 Bibliography 308 t1 BRIEF SUMMARY This thesis i.s a general analysis of the structure of social relatícnships between Aborigines and whites in Central Australia. Of particular importance .t. tfr. relationships between Abo::iginzrl fringe-dweflers and various social weLfare administrators. In Chapter One I argue that most whites who vlork with Aborigines must act as brokers; that is, if they are to recruit Abori.ginal clients or t.o receive support from the Commonwealth government, they must maintain access to, and legitimate t-heir identi.ties \¡/ithinr þoth Aboriginal communj-ties and the Corrunonwealtl-r administration. I also analyze exchanges in sacred material between 1\borigines and whiLe brokers and so raise the critical question of how Aborigines must c{ain access to, but v¡ithdraw from, powerful- whites if they are to survive. In Chapter Two I analyze how the mobilization of Aboriginal "problems" during periods of "racial tension" legitina.tes increases in the power and intervention of social welfare agencies in the every<lay life of Aborigines" chapter Three explaj-ns how fr:ínçJe-camps have emerged as respollses pr:itnarily to the increased power of the social welfare aitrninistration and are poínts of s'Lrtrctural flexibility in an ot-herw-ise highly determined context. In Chapter: Four I anal¡yze how fr:inge-canpet-s minimize their debt to whites by opera.ting a domestic ç:cononty of concrete and l.imj-ted hrants" I note the critical í.mportancc of the colltrol of children in this process and retat-e changes: in the marriage and kil-naming systems among Aborigines to how l,romen, irr partit--ular, attempt to provis:Lon threir cJomestic qro'Jps" Chapter Five begins â two-part argunent about the pcsitic.rn c,f men in the f::inge*cämps. The total argrtrnetlt is that nren r:eo¡ire access both to rvork anit to sources of domesti':: r_ lt credit if they are to survive. In Chapter Five I analyze how men find work and develop careers in the cattle industry. Ïn Chapter Six I analyze the significance of the exchange of Iiquor for menr s attempts to develop .funds of tong-term credit to meet the inevitable breaks in their sources of income. I extend the argument by noLing ttr,at liquor's capacity to make subt1e distinctions on the theme of personal independence accounts for its wide use in everyday exchanges in the fringe-camps. Chapter Seven concerns the patterns of interpersonal violence in the fringl-1*p= ïgue i. i J' ' that violence emerges from the problem of commensurability; that is, viole¡ce emerges when key items in the ongoing exchange relationshi.ps among the fringe-campers are rendered it-¡commensur:able. I relate this to the fact that relati.onships between men and women, particularly' are subject to contradictory condit-ions. On the one hand' men and v¡omen have separate sources of income. On the other hand' they each depend upon the other to counteract inadequacies in their respective incomìs. Conseguetltly, men and women are independent of each other uncler some circumstances and cri tically dependent on each other under other circumstances. ThJ s generates an essential indetermj-nacy in relations between men ancl wonen. In my conclusion I analyze how fringe-dwellers responded to the renewed efforts of the social welfare adminisÈration to solve their "problems"" f note that the new efforts in Aboriginal affai¡:s raised yet again the problem of how the fringe-dwellers were to gain access to, but with- draw fromr v/Lu',tes. I conclude by noting that all Aborígines, "tribal" or "non-trj.bal", urban or ::ural, ml-lst develop mea.ns to solve this gener:al problem of reJ.ating to outside, white arrthorities, and the social- weLfare adminisLrators i-n particular. v ACKNOT{LEDGEMENTS Unquestionably this thesis is the product of the joint rn'ork of many people. I a¡n foremost in the debt of f,illiam and Kristin¡¡ Collmann who have stayed witn àe throughout the fieldrvork and writing up, often at great inconvenience and personal cost. Their loyalty and support was absolutel.y necessary for all. my work. They toler:ated not only their own personal discomfort, but also what I myself conti:ibuted to a sometimes difficult enough situatior-r- They were not alv,'ays happy cluring the four years of v¿ork' Yet' they always supported me and ma<1e the ent.ire exercise worthwhile. I could noL have done it alone. People in Alice Springs often commenÈed to me that anthropolo- gists were un\delcome in lhe region. I never encountered any hostiliÈy in this regard. The people of Mt. Kelly, the fringe- camp in which I Iived, were particular.Ly gracious and tolerant. There is no doubt in my mind that they are responsi.ble for what littl-e insight I have gained into the affairs of Central Australia- They permitted ne to observe, and instructed me in, aspects qf their lives which, all things considered,, they miglrt rather have wished to keep to themsel-ves. In this thesis I have tried principally to portray theì-r social wo¡:Id as I understand they perceive it. only in this way can T explain some aspects of their lives which most outsiclers condemn. Í hope that I have not misrepresented thenr or failed in this encleavor. If I have succeederl in any senset I wilt have acconrplj-shed my primary aírn. There were marìy obtrer people in Alice Springs who helped me and my famil1z. i cannot enu-merate theL all " f wa-nt to express our: special grat-itu<le to our f riends, the Lj,ttl.e s j-sters of Jesus, vl- htho never failed to grant the warmth of their home Èo us. I"lrs. Betty McKay and Mr. and Mrs. Geoff Eames were also very good to us ttrroughout. our fielCwork. In general' I o\^/e the people of Alice Springs a great debt. IÈ is impossible to assess the debt oire or.= gr."t teachers. I cannot adequately thank the men who, by introducing me to anthropology, changed my worlclview many times. Professor Bruce Kapferer has been my supervisor for over six years. In that time he has supported me v¡hen I did not consicler myself worth supporting. tle has constantly encouraged me and pressured me to make the most of my ma,terial. He has frequently referred me to just the book or article I needed to develop a nascent idea which, I am quite sure, he understood better than I. He suggested I 9o to Alice Springs. I only hope that Èhe end product of all his work somewhat measures up to his expectations. Dr. Lee Sackett and Dr" Kingsley Garbett have also supervised my \¡¡ork on Atice Springs. Dr. Sackettrs knowl-edge of Aborigines and the relevant anthropological literature has been very helpful. I began to make major progress in my work during my period as a tutor under Dr. Garbett. He gave unsparÌngly of his time and enthusiasm listening to the often hair-brain ideas which his lectures and the course stimulated in my mÍnd. IIe also has hacl the thankfess task of minding my thesj-s through the administrative procedures at the end' The Department of Anthropology at the university of Adelaide j-s a very stimulating and demanding place in which to wriÈe a thesj-s. Tho quality of criticism and helpful -insight characteristic of my feIlow postqraduates in particular, has disciplined me and developed ny imaginat,ion mo::e than I c¿n know. Among the staff, Tom Ernst' VIT Roy Fitzhenry, and Adrian Peace have been very helpful. David Mearns and Mike Muetzelfeldt have shared the problems of being a postgraduate student. Their own work has been a critical to which I have had to measure up. standard "ftuy" f have benefitted from the extensive assistance of scholars outside of Ade1aide. Dr. Don Handel-man, Professor Mervyn Meggitt, and Dr. J. Clyde Mitchell have all read porti.ons of my work at various stages and made extremely valuable comments. As should also be apparent from the body of my thesis, I have drawn great profit.