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 * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. 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, closely related to Warrwa and

Yawuru The Yawuru, also spelt Jawuru, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Language A Japanese linguist, Hosokawa Kōmei (細川弘明), compiled the first basic dictionary of the Yawuru language in 1988, ...

. It is still (2012) spoken by around 10 people.

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 Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal 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 designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

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 of record 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 indic ...

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

Prominent people

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

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * *