Eileen Bray Eileen Bray i(A105808 works by) (birth name: Jumuna) (a.k.a. Nangari (Skin name))
Born: Established: ca. 1948 ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Kija
(Storyteller) assertion
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1 2 y separately published work icon Gija Dictionary Frances Kofod , Eileen Bray , Rusty Peters , Joe Blythe , Anna Crane , Canberra : Aboriginal Studies Press , 2022 24999736 2022 reference

'Gija is a traditional language of the East Kimberley in the north-west of Australia. It is a landscape of weathered hills hugged by spinifex, startling rocky outcrops, hidden waterholes and dry riverbeds that turn to raging torrents in the wet season. Gija country extends north of Warmun (Turkey Creek) in the upper reaches of the Ord and Dunham rivers, south to Halls Creek and west to Lansdowne and Tableland stations. The Purnululu (Bungle-Bungle — Boornoolooloo) National Park sits in Gija country.

'From the late 1800s, Gija people suffered devastating losses: invading pastoralists brought cattle that damaged waterholes and devastated the ecosystem; fortune hunters chased gold at Halls Creek; and government rounded up and forced people onto cattle stations. In the late 1960s when Aboriginal stockmen were granted equal wages, many were thrown off the land. This second wave of dispossession saw Gija people move to Wyndham and Halls Creek and later Warmun (Warrmarn), where most Gija people still live today. Many contributed to this dictionary including many well-known artists who use painting to pass on their linguistic knowledge.

'Despite this tragic history of loss, Gija people remain on their country, living their culture and speaking language. This new dictionary of Gija, the most comprehensive ever published, is a testament to their resilience.' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon From Digging Sticks to Writing Sticks : Stories of Kija Women As Told to Veronica Ryan Veronica Ryan , Eileen Bray (translator), Mary Thomas (translator), Leederville : Catholic Education Office of Western Australia , 2001 Z1388239 2001 anthology life story The stories recorded in this book trace the oral history of the families of Warmun community dating back to the time of first contact and interaction with foreigners. Elders speak of that time by describing life on cattle stations and the way culture was maintained in an increasingly alien environment. Other contributors tell of the move to the present community site and explain how aspects of their culture are still maintained and transmitted by the people of Warmun community.
1 y separately published work icon Impact Stories of the East Kimberley ( trans. Eileen Bray )expression Canberra : East Kimberley Impact Assessment Project , 1989 Z1616194 1989 anthology oral history

This paper presents a selection of stories and commentaries by Aboriginal people of the Turkey Creek area, collected for a community social impact study.

The accounts extend from the early impact history of the area, about a century ago, through the pastoral working era, leaving cattle stations in the 1970s and building up new communities, to Aboriginal aspirations in the present. These present Aboriginal points of view; further historical information is presented in historical notes by Clement.
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