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Jarlmadangah
Burru Aboriginal Community, situated south east of Derby
in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, is built around
very strong social values and a dedication to the maintenance
of Nyikina-Mangala Law and Culture.
Nyikina
and Mangala are the two language groups in Jarlmadangah
Burru; Nyikina is the traditional language of the
Jarlmadangah Burru area, while the Mangala language
came across from the desert areas with the people who were
forced into slave labour on the pastoral stations on the
Fitzroy River. Nyikina-Mangala elders
John and Harry Watson (pictured below) saw
much of the process which robbed Aboriginal people of their
land and denied them an education.
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Jarlmadangah
Burru is the result of their life-long struggle to maintain
their language, law and culture, and educate new generations.
The community, formed in 1987,
now has its own clinic, school, camel tours, cultural mapping,
aquaculture and community development programs, a women's
centre and the Ngyginah Cattle Company which now runs
Mt Anderson Station. |
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Nestled
amidst the picturesque Grant Ranges, in one of the
world's last great wilderness regions, with a history and
culture still vibrantly alive, Jarlmadangah Burru is a landmark
in many ways. |
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All
major decisions concerning the community are made at
meetings where everyone gathers and all can have their say.
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The commitment to cultural values, an alcohol and drug free policy and inspired leadership have made Jarlmadangah Burru Aboriginal Community a successful 'building project' with an eye on the future as well as the past.
Jarlmadangah Burru Aboriginal Community, PO Box 381,Derby, W.A., 6728.
Email contact: jarlmadangah1@bigpond.com
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