The economy and subsistence practices of the aboriginal Belyuen tribe of Northern Territory, Australia are changing as the group becomes more integrated with the national Australian economy. However, Belyuen women continue to gather bush foods even though market foods are available. In this project, the researcher will establish why women continue to concentrate on food gathering activities by analyzing the local ethnobotanical and ethnozoological system within an ecological framework and seeing how food-collecting has been affected by local and national policies. In addition to extending our knowledge about tribal societies as they become more integrated in the national socio- political system, this project will increase our understanding of how gender systems interact with economic and ecological systems. This project has implications for developing societies and for industrial societies with non-industrial subpopulations throughout the world.
