The Lia Pootah are a
Tasmania
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, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
n group who claim descent from both Tasmanian
Aboriginal women of several kinship groups and European men (free settlers, soldiers and convicts) who arrived in
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
from 1803 onwards. They are distinct from the Palawa, a group of Aboriginal descent whose immediate ancestors hail mostly from the islands of
Bass Strait.
Origins
The Lia Pootah claim a connection with two main groups, the people of the Waddamanna (big rivers) and the people of the
Huon. These kinship groups are defined as Teen Toomele Menennye (Big River) and Tahune Linah (Huon) respectively. Some of the Lia Pootah claim to be descended from the people of
Bruny Island
Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman ...
and from the Toogee of Tasmania’s West Coast. Others claim an origin on the East Coast and in the Central Highlands.
The Lia Pootah say that it is inaccurate to claim (as some historians have done) that all Aboriginal people were removed from the Tasmanian mainland in the nineteenth century. They maintain that many people of full or part Aboriginal descent remained in Tasmania, particularly in remote areas, given that much of Tasmania was inaccessible to European settlers as late as the 1870s.
Cultural activities
The cultural arm of the Lia Pootah community is Manuta Tunapee Puggaluggalia (Tasmanian Aboriginal Historical Cultural Association and Publishing House). Its stated aim is to educate and break down the stereotypes and misconceptions which now prevail within both the Tasmanian community and the broader community. It says that the broader community is unaware that there are a number of separate Aboriginal communities in Tasmania, which have their own policies and guidelines and publish their own material. It has therefore made available cultural books, teaching resources, and other material, including children's books.
Recognition
The Lia Pootah maintain that the definition of Tasmanian Aboriginality has been monopolised by a separate group known as the Palawa, represented by the
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
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, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
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(TAC) and with three accepted lines of ancestry - Bass Strait Islands,
Dolly Dalrymple and
Fanny Cochrane Smith
Fanny Cochrane Smith (December 1834 – 24 February 1905) was an Aboriginal Tasmanian, born in December 1834. She is considered to be the last fluent speaker of the Flinders Island lingua franca, a Tasmanian language, and her wax cylinder reco ...
. This, they argue, has had the effect of excluding the Lia Pootah from government recognition and from full involvement in Aboriginal affairs. The Palawa leader most strongly opposed to Lia Pootah claims to Aboriginality is lawyer and activist
Michael Mansell
Michael Alexander Mansell (born 5 June 1951 in northern Tasmania) is a Tasmanian Aboriginal leader who, as an activist and lawyer, has worked for social, political and legal changes to improve the lives and social standing of Tasmanian Aborigi ...
, one of the founders of the TAC.
['Mansell insists the Lia Pootah are white fellas who "don't have a single drop of Aboriginal blood in their veins"': Matthew Denholm, 'A bone to pick with the Brits,' ''The Australian'', 17 February 2007: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/a-bone-to-pick-with-the-brits/story-e6frg6z6-1111113008054]
See also
*
Aboriginal Tasmanian
The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the List of islands of Australia, Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th centu ...
*
Palawa kani
Palawa kani is a constructed language created by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre as a composite Tasmanian languages, Tasmanian language, based on reconstructed vocabulary from the limited accounts of the various languages once spoken by the eas ...
References
{{reflist
External links
The Lia Pootah websiteThe website of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
Indigenous Australians in Tasmania