Lama lama heritage in museums and on country: the changing contexts of identity

The paper considers the relationship between people, culture and heritage, and the impacts of increased familiarity with museum objects, in the reassertion of cultural identity among the Lamalama of remote northern Australia. From the Lamalama perspective, both cultural and economic sustainability are implicit in the potential offered by formally legislated acquisition of title to their country over recent years. However, recent deaths of a number of senior elders indicates a moment of intergenerational change and highlights the materiality of tangible heritage, such as objects or land, and the intangible heritage associated with it - knowledge, customs, and the people themselves. Younger people now assert a stronger connection to country; in this context, country can be understood as a tangible part of their heritage which contains the many historical, cultural and personal meanings that contribute to their identity as a people.