A new deal to give Aboriginal people on remote Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory the power to operate their own essential services has been described as a first step towards a treaty.
The Groote Archipelago Local Decision Making Agreement will be signed on Wednesday.
The Anindilyakwa people on the island in the Gulf of Carpentaria will run government-funded bilingual schools, health clinics and numerous other government services.
A low-security detention centre is being proposed as an alternative to offenders having to go to prison on the mainland, with indigenous people comprising the majority of the NT's prisoners.
The transition is due to take nine years and is the first of what is hoped will be 11 such local decision making agreements planned that would "put power back in the hands of local communities", NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.
Indigenous people would have far more autonomy over decision making and spending although the Territory government will still have oversight over hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Mr Gunner, who announced plans for an NT treaty at this year's Barunga Festival, said the agreement was a first step towards that.
"This means government giving up decision making power to communities in areas like housing, education, justice, local government, health and looking after kids," Mr Gunner said.
Anindilyakwa Land Council chairman Tony Wurramarrba said the agreement represented a future of self-determination for the people of the Groote Archipelago "decided by our people, for our people."
"We celebrate today's occasion because it marks the important work under this agreement over the next decade and make these changes for the benefit of our people.
