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Untitled

“Those three animals we protect them now. The old people use to eat the animals and we’re working with the KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrp Ranger) mob to protect them. The top one (Mangkarr) is taller than this one (middle – Nurta). This one (Nurta) is stumpy like a guinea pig. The bottom one (Winyminji) is the same size as a cat. It’s like a cat.”

– Carol Williams

Winyminji (Quolls) are carnivorous marsupials also native to Australia. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. They have brown or black fur and pink noses. They are largely solitary, but come together for a few social interactions such as mating which occurs during the winter season. Quolls eat smaller mammals, small birds, lizards, and insects. All species have drastically declined in numbers since Australasia was colonised by Europeans, with one species, the eastern quoll, becoming extinct in the 1960s.

KJ program manage the conservation of the natural and cultural assets on Martu country through the employment of Martu as Indigenous rangers.  KJ rangers work to build knowledge on and protect the many important species that occur on their country, including the Mankarr, the wiminyji and the mulyamiji (great desert skink).

Name: Noreena Kadibil


Language: Putijarra


Community: Parnngurr


Biography:

"My country is Kajarra between wells 6 and 9 on the Canning Stock Route. This is my dad’s country and my grandfather’s and grandmother’s country. I only paint my grandfather’s and grandmother’s country, that’s our traditional lands. Jigalong belongs to the mob. I have other country but there’s other people mixed up in it. Mum was born in Savoury Creek. My grandmother used to live in Jigalong before Old Jigalong got started. I paint pictures of my country to keep it safe and to show my kids how to look after it." "I grew up in Wiluna and on Lake Violet Station. We moved to Jigalong in 1969 after my father passed away. I moved to Parnngurr with five children in 1984 (Murphy was the youngest), there was too much humbug in town, it’s a quieter place out here." Noreena was taught by her parents and grandparents about her traditional lands and how to survive in the bush. She has passed on this knowledge to her kids and grandkids as well as teaching them how to paint. Her mother Daisy had been taken from her family as a child and placed in the Moore River settlement. The film Rabbit Proof Fence tells Daisy's story.


© the artist / art centre