The Nyikina people (also spelt Nyigina and Nyikena, and listed as Njikena by Tindale) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. They come from the lower Fitzroy River (which they call ''mardoowarra''). Traditional lands of Australian Aboriginal Tribes around Derby

Language

The Nyigina language is one of several eastern varieties of the

Nyulnyulan languages The Nyulnyulan languages are a small family of closely related Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia. Most languages in this family are extinct, with only three extant languages, all of which are almost extinct. I ...

, closely related to Warrwa and Yawuru. it was spoken by around 10 people.

Country

The Nyigina (Njikena) inhabited an area, estimated at . The area is located on the lower Fitzroy River from Yeeda upstream to Noonkanbah, on both banks.

Education

The Nyigina, together with the Mangala people, run the Nyikina Mangala Community School a school at Jarlmadangah in West Kimberley. The Nyigina-Mangala peoples also run another school, together with the Walmajarri, at Looma.

Native title

In 1998 the Nyigina people undertook legal proceedings to pursue their native title claims. One consisted of a ''Nyikina Mangala'' claim, which they shared with the Mangala while the other comprised the ''Nyikina- Warrwa'' pursued together with the closely related Warrwa people. The Shire of Derby settled an

Indigenous land use agreement Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

with the Indigenous plaintiffs, regarding the ''Nikina Mangala'' area, and set down a protocol that provided guarantees for surveying the Aboriginal cultural heritage before any development projects on the land could be undertaken. In 2014, after an 18-year legal battle, the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

granted the Nyikina-Mangala petitioners native title over of territory, from King Sound through the Fitzoy Valley to the

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

Prominent people

* Paddy Roe was a Nyigina elder who wrote about Nyigina culture and religion. * Butcher Joe Nangan was a Nyigina Mabanjarra, songman, and artist. * Daisy Loongkoonan was a Nyigina elder and artist.

Notes

Citations

Sources

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