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

Aboriginal Australian people Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 years ...

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 Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People Given name * Several members of the Somerset family (Duke of Beaufort, Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: ** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufo ...

(which they call ''mardoowarra''). Traditional lands of Australian Aboriginal Tribes around Derby

Language

The

Nyigina language Nyikina (also Nyigina, Njigina) is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language of Western Australia, spoken by the Nyigina people. Warrwa language, Warrwa may have been a dialect. Classification R. M. W. Dixon (2002) reg ...

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 The Warrwa, also spelt Warwa, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Language Warrwa is an eastern Nyulnyulan language, sufficiently closely related to Nyigina to be classified as a dialect of the l ...

and

Yawuru The Yawuru, also spelt Jawuru, are an Aboriginal 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, a ...

. 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 The Mangarla, or Mangala, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia. The Mangarla people traditionally lived in the north-western area of the Great Sandy Desert, west of the Karajarri people, east of the Walmajarri, with the Juwali ...

, 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 The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Name The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept ...

, 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 to that land by another colonising state. The requirements of proof for the recognition of ab ...

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 Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics) Protocol originally (in Late Middle English, c. 15th century) meant the minutes or logbook taken at a meeting, upon which an agreement was based. The term now commonly refers to ...

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 Paddy Roe (1912–2001), also known as Lulu, was a Nyikina (also spelled Nyigina) Aboriginal man born and raised in the bush by his tribal father, Bulu, and mother, Wallia, at Roebuck Plains on Yawuru country in the remote West Kimberley regi ...

was a Nyigina elder who wrote about Nyigina culture and religion. *

Butcher Joe Nangan Joe Nangan (Butcher Joe Nangan) (1900-1989) was an Aboriginal Australian lawman, ''jalngunguru'' (healer or cleverman) and artist. In his role as a custodian of legends, Nangan was responsible for the preservation of the sounds and performances ...

was a Nyigina

Maban Maban, mabain or mabanba is a material that is held to be magical in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It is the material from which the shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with th ...

Language

Country

Education

Native title

Prominent people

Notes

Citations

Sources

Further reading