Ngarrindjeri

The Ngarrindjeri (literal translation "the people who belong to this land") are an Australian Aboriginal nation, language group or confederation of 18 lakinyeri (clans or tribes), and 77 family groups, who speak related dialects of the Ngarrindjeri language. They are the traditional Aboriginal people of the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of southern, central Australia. "Much of the early literature on this south-eastern region refers to the Aborigines collectively as the Ngarrindjeri 'confederacy' or 'nation', but in the Berndt's view this is misleading. Although there was freedom of movement over the region, and many bonds linked the culturally similar 'tribes' or dialect-named units that comprise the Ngarrindjeri, there was no political unity to warrant the 'nation' or 'confederacy' labels." However, other sources disagree. For instance, Donald Pate states: