Noongar

Imagine a big, friendly family that has lived in one special place for thousands and thousands of years! That's kind of like the Noongar people. They are the Aboriginal Australians who call the sunny, southwest corner of Western Australia their home.

This land stretches from the ocean city of Geraldton all the way down to the southern coast at Esperance. It's a huge and beautiful place where they have their own special name for their country: Noongar boodja.

The Noongar people aren't just one group, but a collection of 14 different families or 'groups'. Think of it like having different classes in a school, but all part of the same big school! Each group has its own special stories and ways of doing things.

They also spoke different languages and 'dialects', which are like different ways of saying the same thing, so they could understand each other. It’s like how you might speak English, but your friend in another country speaks English with a slightly different accent!

The Noongar people have been here for an incredibly long time, making them some of the oldest storytellers on Earth! Their ancestors have been living in this land for so long that their stories are like ancient treasures. Today, many Noongar people still live in the southwest and continue their traditions.

They are like living links to the past, sharing their culture with new generations. It's amazing to think about how many stories have been told under the same stars!

Did you know that the Noongar people have a special name for their land? It's called Noongar boodja. They are part of a huge language family called Pama–Nyungan, which is like a giant tree with many branches of different languages.

Even though they have their own ancient languages, many Noongar people today speak Australian Aboriginal English, which is English mixed with Noongar words. This shows how their culture is still alive and growing, like a strong tree!