Just 200 people live in the community of Peppimenarti, six hours' drive south of Darwin.
But the peace and quiet has been shattered by four years of violence and unrest that is showing no sign of stopping.
A man was fatally shot with a crossbow in September last year. Two young men were shot and injured by bullets last month.
There is a small group of locals who post images on social media of themselves carrying out attacks and threatening people.
Anastasia Naiya Wilson is a member of a Peppimenarti traditional owner family that says they are being terrorised.
"I got attacked, rocks thrown at me, and suffered a wound on my left elbow. I had to go to hospital and get six stitches," she said.
"I can't even stand in my sister's yard because that's where we got attacked by 30 young blokes armed with machetes and crossbows, and we've had death threats and rape threats."
She and her family are accusing the police of being slow to respond to calls for help or not responding at all.
"Sometimes we wait for three days for the police to come and see us, and even if we do see them we don't get any feedback about what's happening," she said.
"We want the government and police to get their act together and help and realise there's an issue out here."
Complaint alleges racial discrimination in policing resources
Several people, including Ms Wilson, have been intimidated out of their homes, and are bunking in with family and living in tents.
"It's not safe for me to stay in my house and it's still smashed," she said.
Karl Lukonavic's son was shot in the chest in a crossbow attack in 2020.
It was his nephew, 36-year-old Mr Jones, who was killed with the crossbow in September.
He said he has given statements to police about being threatened with violence and urged them to take action.
"I told the police this is going to happen, and my nephew was killed in September," he said.
"I was in the house ringing triple-0 that night before he was killed. [People outside] were yelling 'old man, come outside, we're going to kill you', or 'we're going to kill someone'.
"Five minutes later, my nephew's dead.
"Culturally I call him son and we're just so devastated."
Sydney-based law firm Levitt Robinson has helped the community file a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against the Northern Territory police and the territory's police minister.
It alleges that Peppimenarti residents are receiving a lesser policing service than non-Indigenous communities receive because of their race.
It has alleged that the police are trying to transfer responsibility for maintaining law and order to community members by asking them to resolve their disputes.
"The community feels that if you look at other regional communities that might not be so heavy on Indigenous populations, they have a police force that is effective and present," solicitor Dana Levitt said.
She said there appeared to be evidence that Northern Territory police had not responded as they should have to violent crime in Peppimenarti.
"When there is evidence that points to the people involved in the violence where you can identify those people, and that has been provided to the police in a timely way, the failure to act on that beggars belief," she said.
In a statement, Northern Territory police said all reported crimes against the person "are responded to by police who undertake their duties without fear or favour".
It said that after the shootings last month, a contingent of officers came to restore order.
However, Northern Territory police said the force could only station two officers in the community because it only had a temporary police post which lacked "the accommodation or infrastructure to make it suitable as a permanent police station".
Police have made a number of arrests and charged several people with violent offences.
Multiple communities launching complaints
Dana Levitt's firm has represented several Indigenous communities who have felt over-policed.
"Usually we hear about police being over-vigilant and that they are sort of going after the community instead of protecting them," she said.
"In this instance, it's been a completely hands-off approach."
If the complaint is accepted, the commission can order mediation. If it is rejected or mediation fails, the community can then consider court action.
Dana Levitt's firm is representing the nearby community of Wadeye, which has also been plagued by violence in recent years.
The community's class action alleges inadequate policing and government services are being provided by the territory government.
Alice Springs business people are planning a class action with similar allegations.
"One would think that the writing is on the wall when any government is faced with a number of complaints that are alleging basically the same thing, which is an inefficient allocation of resources to people that need it," Dana Levitt said.
"It's not open to the NT government to say: 'This is in the too-hard basket.'
"They have to pick up their game and ensure that they're doing more."
