The young Anangu men did not have to be asked to perform at the ceremony to open the country's first Indigenous constitutional convention. They leapt at the chance to showcase their culture.

They call it tjukurpa. It is what some call the dreaming, but not the Anangu. They call the law: the rational and moral order of their being.

For the delegates and the media, it was a rare glimpse of something sacred inside a community that has tended to keep to itself, especially since the Northern Territory intervention a decade ago.

In 2007, a deputation of army and police officers was sent to Mutitjulu in the first wave of Prime Minister John Howard's radical intervention into the lives of remote communities to tackle sexual abuse of children, violence, and drug addiction.

Now, the community is planning to open itself to tourism and the opportunity to share tjukurpa with those who come from all over the world to see the icon by the community, Uluru.

"It could be this year, it could be next year, but it's definitely going to happen," says one of Mutitjulu's emerging leaders, Craig Woods, 35, a father of three.

"We don't know what it will look like. All I know is that Anangu will be more than happy to have tourism come into the community here. That's what we want to encourage, what you saw the other day."

Aside from performing on a regular basis, the community would offer tourists the opportunity to hear about tjukurpa, see how food is gathered and prepared and meet some of the community's gifted wood carvers.

"That's the vision that most of the community members would like to see happen. Why should we go into Yulara (the nearby resort) or the cultural centre when you can spend that couple of hours here?

"It goes both ways. If you teach tourists about our culture, they'll teach us about their culture. Everyone gets to learn."

Mr Woods was not at the community when the convey of white Toyotas rolled in on June 27, 2007, but he says the experience devastated the community. "It was frightening to hear that the government had declared war on the men of the community - and the women were frightened, too.

"And after all that, nothing happened."

Now, however, there are grounds for cautious optimism on a number of fronts. Those responsible for mismanagement have gone and the signing of a sublease has given the community of 250 more certainty.

Indigenous Affairs Minister, Nigel Scullion, says the lease means the community has long-term, tradeable tenure arrangements and the potential for greater economic opportunities, localised decision-making and investment in housing.

Mr Woods says it is a definite step forward, but only part of the answer. "Everything is not hunky dory," he says.

The decision by this week's convention to call for a Makarrata Commission that would oversee a process of healing is an important step forward, he says. Progress is also being made toward expanding employment opportunities for community members at the resort.

The key, says Mr Woods, is that the community sets it own destiny in a way that is comfortable and not rushed. "These are little steps that we're taking", he says. And from little steps???.