TheKukatj are anAboriginal Australian people of theCape York Peninsula in the state ofQueensland. They are to be distinguished from theKukatja ofWestern Australia and theLuritja of theNorthern Territory, who have also historically been known as Kukatja.
InNorman Tindale's estimation, the Kukatj held about 5,700 square kilometres (2,200 sq mi) of tribal land. Their eastward extension, fromInverleigh[1] reached theFlinders River, and running northwards from the area of theDonor Hills[2] up to theGulf of Carpentaria.[3]
When European settlers moved into theGulf of Carpentaria region and establishedNormanton in the 1870s, there were an estimated sevenAboriginal peoples in the area, and thefrontier wars blurred and confused the boundaries of traditional lands. By the 1920s, many Aboriginal people had been forcibly removed toAboriginal reserves andmissions. TheGkuthaarn and Kukatj people who remained lived in camps along the south-western side of the town, while others, such as theKurtijar people, camped north of theNorman River.[4]
On 29 September 2020 the Kukatj and Gkuthaarn peoples won anative title determination over more than 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) west of theNorman River, includingNormanton, as far as theLeichhardt River. Their recognition astraditional owners of the land, eight years after lodging the claim, allows the two groups tohunt, hunt and practise their culture and theircultural ceremonies onpastoral land.[4][5]
The Kukatj people spoke theKukatj language, which is nowextinct.
The Gkuthaarn Kukatj Indigenous Land & Sea Ranger group is a group ofIndigenous rangers made up of Kukatj andGkuthaarn people, help to protect thenatural resources and cultural heritage of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria region. The group is managed by theCarpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (CLCAC).[6]