The Yindjibarndi 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 Islands ...

people of the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

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 th ...

. They form the majority of Aboriginal people around Roebourne (the Millstream area). Their traditional lands lie around the

Fortescue River The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state. Course The river rises near Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range about 30 km south of Newman. The river fl ...

Language

Yindjibarndi The Yindjibarndi are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They form the majority of Aboriginal people around Roebourne (the Millstream area). Their traditional lands lie around the Fortescue River. Langua ...

, with around 1000 speakers has been called the most innovative descendant of then proto-Ngayarta language. It is mutually intelligible with Kurruma. Due to their displacement in the colonisation process which forced them into Roebourne, many speakers are

Ngarluma The Ngarluma are an Indigenous Australian people of the western Pilbara area of northwest Australia. They are coastal dwellers of the area around Roebourne and Karratha. Not including Millstream. Language The Ngarluma language belongs to the ...

people who have adopted Yindjibarndi. Their spatial concepts regarding landscape of do not translate with any equivalent conceptual extension into English.

Ecology

Traditionally, until the arrival of Europeans, the Yindjibarndi lived along the middle sector of the valley through which the

runs, and the nearby uplands. Beginning in the 1860s pastoralists established cattle stations on their homeland, and the Yindjibarndi were herded into settlements. Today most of them are congregated in and around the traditional

territory whose centre is Roebourne.

Native title

The mining magnate

Andrew Forrest John Andrew Henry Forrest (born 18 November 1961), nicknamed Twiggy, is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the former CEO (and current non-executive chairman) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and has other interests in the mining i ...

head of

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of ...

, which extracts ore at the

Solomon iron ore hub Fortescue is a global metal mining and green energy company headquartered in Australia. Fortescue focused on iron ore mining under the name of Fortescue Metals Group until July 2023.https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/production/fortescue-future-i ...

on the Yindjibarndi's traditional land, waged a 14-year legal battle to assert the company's rights against the people's aspirations to have native title. In 2017, 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 ...

recognised that the Yindjibarndi had exclusive rights over some , and the court reaffirmed its decision again in 2020 when FMG appealed to have the determination overturned. Yindjibardni people, alongside the

people, are also a party to the land access agreement for the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Gas Project, executed in 1998. Under the agreement,

and Yindjibarndi people remain the

traditional owner 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 ...

representatives for the North West Shelf Project area, which includes the Karratha Gas Plant. The 1998 agreement established the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL). NYFL continues to operate out of Roebourne. NYFL delivers social and economic benefits for the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people, and the broader Roebourne community. According to the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC):

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia Pilbara