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How did language-named groups relate to territory in traditional Aboriginal society?

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Aboriginal people of Galiwnku Island in Australia — Australian Aboriginal peoples Aboriginal people from Galiwnku Island gathering to watch the proceedings at which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia for their mistreatment under earlier Australian governments, February 2008.

In traditional Aboriginal society, language-named groups—sometimes referred to by Europeans as "tribes"—were associated with specific stretches of territory. There were approximately 500 such named, territorially anchored groups across the continent.1

However, it is inaccurate to view these language-named groups as political or economic entities. While members of these groups shared cultural features and interacted frequently, individual and group identity was primarily grounded in more locally oriented affiliations, such as the "estate group". An estate group held collective ownership of a specific set of sites and territory, which they managed in trust according to an unwritten charter derived from the Dreaming.12

Language boundaries were often marginal or irrelevant to political organization and were frequently crosscut by broader kinship and marriage networks. While language names served as useful labels for groups to identify one another, there was no concept of a shared national identity. Instead, the social and economic life of Aboriginal peoples was defined by the interplay of kinship, religious responsibilities, and the highly mobile, flexible band structure that utilized the land.312