In 1963, the government turned part of the Yolngu people's traditional lands (in Arnhem Land) into a bauxite mine. The Yolngu started a petition (now called the Yirrkala bark petitions) to demand the rights to these lands. The petition was turned into a legal case. Mining went ahead anyway, and the legal case went on for 41 years. The Yolngu were finally made a part of the agreement between the government and the mining company in 2011.