TheNgintait, orNgindadj,[1] are anAustralian Aboriginal peoples of the northwest corner of the state of Victoria, and partly in South Australia. 9 people, all of one family, claim descent from the tribe, which was dispersed in the 19th century.[2]
The Ngintait's territory extended over 2,400 square miles (6,200 km2), mainly around the southern bank of theMurray River. It covered the area aboveParinga in south Australia, to nearMildura in Victoria. Its southern boundaries reached down some 50 miles from the Murray. Their tribal lands encompassedNed's Corner and also the Salt Creek area ofNew South Wales.[4]Jaraldekalt informants of the anthropologistRonald Berndt and his wifeCatherine that the area defined by Norman Tindale as Ngintait territory was actually dwelt in by theErawirung, and located the Ngintait further away from the Murray.[3]
According to Darren Perry, the former chair of theMurray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations,[5] and the only person tracing his and his family of nine's origins to the Ngintait, the original Ngintait clans were dispersed during theguerilla wars of the early 1840s about theRufus River.[6]
The Ngintait, as represented by Perry, have madea claim for native title claiming they have custodian obligations to the rich native burial grounds in their area.[7]
Wafer, Jim; Lissarrague, Amanda; Harkins, Jean (2008).A Handbook of Aboriginal Languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative.ISBN978-0-977-53518-7.
