Tindale began mapping the cultural groupings of Indigenous Australians early in his career. His interest in this began during a research trip to Groote Eylandt in 1921–1922. On the island, an Anindilyakwa man gave Tindale detailed descriptions of which land belonged to his family and which land did not. This led Tindale to question the widely held belief among European Australians at the time, which was that Aboriginal people were nomadic and had no connection to any specific area. Tindale's maps have been superseded by more accurate ones.