The Ngardi, also spelled Ngarti, are an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

people of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and

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 th ...

Name and grouping

Arthur Capell Arthur Capell (28 March 1902 – 10 August 1986) was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages. Early life Capell was born in Newtown, New South Wales ...

took the term ''Ngardi'' to refer, not to a distinct tribe, but to a branch of the Warlpiri, a point contested by

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ther ...

, who maintained they were distinct. The

Wanjina The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in rock art in Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of Wes ...

and Wunggurr spirits are essential elements of the life of the cultural bloc known as the

Wanjina Wunggurr The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia. The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditiona ...

, generally consisting of the

Worrorra The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia. The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditiona ...

Wunambal The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. People The Wunambal were, according to Norma ...

and

Ngarinyin The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their traditional lands, they refer to themselves as Wilinggi ...

peoples of the Kimberley. For the purpose of a mineral rights agreement with a mining company in 2006, the Worrorra were also grouped with the Ngardi, as

Dambimangari The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia. The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditiona ...

(Dambima-Ngardi), said to share the Wanjina-Wunggurr belief systems. Rock paintings depicting Wanjina, as well as the

Gwion Gwion The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, Gwion figures, Kiro Kiro or Kujon (previously known as the Bradshaw rock paintings, Bradshaw rock art, Bradshaw figures and the Bradshaws) are one of the two major regional traditions of rock art found in the nort ...

("Bradshaw") paintings, are evidence of the shared culture.

Country

's calculations, the Ngarti's tribal territory stretched over approximately , covering the sandhill country west of the Tanami track, extending from Chilla Well, the Granites, and Gardiner Range over the border into

at Ima Ima. They were present at Sturt Creek, and the Pallottine Mission area at Balgo Hill. Their southern extension, he adds, went as far as across the mulga scrubland to Milidjipi and Tekkari north of

Lake Mackay Lake Mackay, known as Wilkinkarra to the Indigenous Pintupi people, is the largest of hundreds of ephemeral salt lakes scattered throughout the Pilbara and northern parts of the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia and the Norther ...

Joint land claim

On 21 August 1980 a land claim was submitted by 90 claimants on behalf of the Warlpiri, Kukatja and Ngarti peoples, as

traditional owners 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 right ...

, under the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditi ...

'', for an area of about . It was the 11th traditional land claim presented on behalf of Aboriginal

by the

Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern T ...

. The land borders on areas in which each of the languages –

Ngarti The Ngardi, also spelled Ngarti, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Name and grouping Arthur Capell took the term ''Ngardi'' to refer, not to a distinct tribe, but to a branch of the Warlpiri, a ...

, Warlpiri, and Kukatja – is dominant. People from the different language groups have been influenced by each other when residing at Balgo, Western Australia and

Lajamanu, Northern Territory Lajamanu, formerly known as Hooker Creek Native Settlement or just Hooker Creek, is a small town of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located around from Katherine and approximately from Darwin. At the 2016 Australian census, Lajama ...

. The claim was presented at

Balgo Mission Balgo, previously Balgo Hills and Balgo Mission, is a community in Western Australia that is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road, and was established b ...

. The recommendation handed down by

Justice Sir William Kearney Sir William John Francis Kearney, (born 8 January 1935) is a retired Australian judge who served on the supreme courts of Papua New Guinea and the Northern Territory in Australia. Career William Kearney was born on 8 January 1935, to ...

on 23 August 1985 and presented on 19 August 1986 was that "the whole of the claim area be granted to a Land Trust for the benefit of Aboriginals entitled by tradition to its use or occupation, whether or not the traditional entitlement is qualified as to place, time, circumstance, purpose or permission".

Mineral rights agreement

in April 2006, the Aztec Resources (now

Mount Gibson Iron Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

) mining company signed a co-existence agreement with the

(Dambima/

-Ngardi)

of Koolan Island regarding their iron ore mining operations on the island. The agreement aimed to ensure that 30% of the 220 person workforce is filled by Indigenous people by the eighth year of operation.

Language

The Ngarti people spoke the

Ngardi language Ngardi, also spelt Ngarti or Ngardilj, is an Australian Aboriginal language that is considered moribund. It was previously thought to be an alternative name for the Bunara language, but these are now classified as separate languages. It was/i ...

Alternative names

* ''Bunara, Boonara'' * ''Kolo''. (Pintubi

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

) * ''Kukuruba'' (Ngalia exonym) * ''Manggai'' (

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

) * ''Munga'' (?) (cited by R. H. Mathews) * ''Ngadi'' * ''Ngari'' * ''Panara''. (general term for grass seed winnowing tribes like the Ngarti) * ''Puruwantung, Buruwatung'' * ''Waiangara'' * ''Waiangari'' ( Ngalia exonym) * ''Waingara, Waiangadi'' * ''Walmala'' (pejorative) * ''

Waringari Ngardi, also spelt Ngarti or Ngardilj, is an Australian Aboriginal language that is considered moribund. It was previously thought to be an alternative name for the Bunara language, but these are now classified as separate languages. It was/is ...

, Warangari''. (Warlpiri pejorative for the Ngarti) * ''Wommana'' * ''Woneiga, Wanayaga'' Source:

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia