This book is a ground breaking critique of the concept of 'tradition' as it has been applied in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander context. The authors argue for a deeper appreciation of the creativity inherent in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social life, and the way that knowledge is constructed and deployed in complex intercultural contexts in contemporary Australia. Each chapter draws on detailed local inter-cultural information including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea ownership and management, native title processes, service delivery arrangements for health and outstation management, and representations in art, song and broadcasting. The advent of Native Title legislation has led Indigenous communities to demonstrate their 'traditional' connections to country. For many, their experiences of these processes are increasingly at odds with the complex inter-cultural realities of their contemporary lives. The authors provide productive ways of charact