Gija people
Gija, also spelt Gidja and Kija,[1] alternatively known as the Lungga,[a] refers to Aboriginal Australians from the East Kimberley area of Western Australia, about 200 km south of Kununurra. In the late 19th century pastoralists were fiercely resisted by Gija people, many of whom now live around localities such as Halls Creek and Warmun (also known as Turkey Creek).
Language
Gija does not belong to the Pama-Nyungan language family which covers most Australian aboriginal tongues, but is a member of the small Jarrakan language group. It is still spoken by from 100 to 200 people.[3]
Country
The Gija's traditional territory consisted of an estimated 12,500 square miles (32,000 km2). On
History of contact
The last known massacre of the Gija people took place at Bedford Downs Station in 1924, when, according to Gija tradition, Paddy Quilty and others at the Bedford station took tribesmen off the station and fed them food laced with strychnine. The corpses of those they killed were then heaped up and burnt on a funeral pyre to eliminate traces of the deed.[4]
Modern period
In 1979, mining explorations teams discovered
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The Gija have maintained a strong tradition of
Notable people
- Paddy Bedford (1922-2007), Gija artist[7]
- Legislative Assembly of Western Australiasince 2013, representing the seat of Kimberley.
- Stacy Mader, the first Aboriginal Australian to obtain a PhD in astronomy.
Notes
- ^ This is the term used by the ethnographer Phyllis Kaberry in her 1930s studies[2] (Kaberry 1937)
Citations
- ^ a b c Tindale 1974, p. 245.
- ^ Kaberry 1935.
- ^ McGregor 2013, p. 40.
- ^ Ferrell 2012, p. 132.
- ^ a b Tasker 2012.
- ^ Thomas 2013.
- ^ Ferrell 2012, pp. 132–133.
- ^ ABC 2013.
- ^ Miller 2013.
Sources
- "AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS.
- Doohan, Kim (2008). Making Things Come Good: Relations Between Aborigines and Miners at Argyle. Backroom Press. ISBN 978-0-977-56153-7.
- Ferrell, Robyn (2012). Sacred Exchanges: Images in Global Context. ISBN 978-0-231-14880-1.
- JSTOR 40327811.
- JSTOR 40327647.
- ISBN 978-1-134-39602-3.
- Miller, Nick (7 June 2013). "Dreamtime art celebrated on rooftops of Paris". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- "Paris museum to host rooftop Aboriginal artwork". Australian Broadcasting Commission. 29 April 2013.
- Ryan, Veronica (2001). From Digging Sticks to Writing Sticks: Stories of Kija Women as Told to Veronica Ryan. Catholic Education Office of Western Australia. ISBN 978-0-949-42609-3.
- Tasker, Sarah-Jane (31 March 2012). "Pink diamonds still Argyle's best friend". The Australian.
- Thomas, Geoffrey (9 November 2013). "Qantas unveils aircraft's Aboriginal art". The Australian.
- "Tindale Tribal Boundaries" (PDF). Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Western Australia. September 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.