View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by espace@Curtin i Centre for Aboriginal Studies The Legacy of the Late Edward Mippy: An Ethnographic Biography Bernard Rooney This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Curtin University of Technology March 2002 ii TO MY FRIEND THE LATE EDWARD “NED” MIPPY iii ABSTRACT Cast in the dual genre of ethnographic biography, this thesis is focused on the life, work and vision of the late Edward “Ned” Mippy, an Aboriginal Elder of the Yuat Nyoongara Community who devoted the latter years of his life to promoting and developing the cultural identity of his people. As biography, it portrays the life of Mr. Mippy with particular emphasis on the factors which help to highlight his understandings and his vision for an Indigenous cultural renewal. As ethnography, the study is intended as a vehicle for wider concerns, evoking an interpretative glimpse of his community and contributing a new perspective of that community as a continuing social entity. These aims are broadly set forth in the brief introduction. The first chapter of the thesis then outlines the origin and development of the research project and the evolution of its methodology. Chapter two presents a picture of Mr. Mippy’s life experience, largely in terms of his own recorded memories and perceptions, while chapter three places his later life in a community context which includes historical, personal and demographic perspectives. The following two chapters, four and five, present various accounts of the work undertaken by Edward Mippy. They offer a glimpse of his cultural knowledge, seeking to explain the nature of his vision and the way in which his goals were implemented. The sixth chapter aims to situate his life and work in the wider social and academic discourses of Indigenous identity. The thesis then concludes with an interpretation of Mr. Mippy’s personal understandings regarding the dynamics of cultural transmission and its importance for future generations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements x Abbreviations and Note on the Main Text xii INTRODUCTION 1 1. FINDING DIRECTION: METHODOLOGY THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA 10 Edward Mippy: Yuat Elder and Spokesperson 15 Ethnography in the Post-Modern World 22 New Narrative Forms 26 Towards a New Methodology 33 Mr. Mippy as a Focus of Interpretation: the Universal Singular 36 TERMS OF REFERENCE 40 The Mippy Family Reference Group 42 SUMMARY 44 2. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF EDWARD MIPPY 47 BIRTH AND FAMILY BACKGROUND 48 The Native Settlements 52 Worsening Conditions at Moore Rive 55 Edward Mippy Begins a New Life 57 The Narrier Family 60 THE INSTITUTIONALISED WORLD OF EDWARD MIPPY Mission Staff 64 The Trackers 67 The Girls’Experience 71 The Boob 74 v Standard of Education 77 Work Experience and the School of Life 79 Religion and Recreation 82 The Settlement Diet 86 Bush Tucker and the Traditional Lifestyle 91 Young Ned, A Privileged Inmate 94 Valuable Insights 98 Cultural Education 101 MOORE RIVER: OTHER PERSPECTIVES 103 New Norcia: the Sister Mission 105 TIME FOR LEAVING: A DEFINING MOMENT FOR EDWARD MIPPY 110 THE RETURN TO MOORE RIVER 116 MOORA MEMORIES 121 SUMMARY 126 3. MR. MIPPY IN HIS SOCIAL CONTEXT: THE MOORA COMMUNITY 127 WHO ARE THE YUAT? 132 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: THE YUAT IN THEIR COUNTRY Early Colonial Contacts 136 New Norcia and its Community 137 Epidemics and their Consequences 142 The Mission in Hindsight: the Ambiguities of Progress 144 Exodus from New Norcia: the Yuat Diaspora 148 Aboriginal Reserves of the Victoria Plains 150 Moora and the Yuat Community 158 Aboriginality and the Moora Community 162 THE WORLD OF EDWARD MIPPY 168 vi 4. YUAT ARTEFACTS PROJECT: GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT (1985-1995) 171 “Me and ‘im Goes Together:” A Shared Vision 172 “Sit Down ... ‘n Talk to Us:” Seeking a Forum of Communication 175 “The Core of it is the Colour of Us:” Discriminatory Attitudes 182 “If They Want Something ... They Gotta Work for it:” The Need for Employment 187 EMPLOYMENT: A PROJECT EMERGES 192 “I’d Like to Teach the Kiddies:” Artefacts as a Form of Cultural Expression 197 The Quest for Funding 201 A New Workshop 209 The Death of Mr. Mippy 211 The Final Phase 212 Some Later Perspectives 213 EPILOGUE 221 5. MR. MIPPY’S CULTURAL WORLD: LANGUAGE, ORAL LITERATURE AND COSMOLOGY 227 LANGUAGE IN THE LIFE OF EDWARD MIPPY 229 “That’s our Secret Weapon:” Edward Mippy’s Vocabulary 230 “We Picked it up as We Went:” Early Lessons in Language 232 “Subject Comes First:” Language Usage in the World of Mr. Mippy 234 The Work of Language Revival 240 ORAL LITERATURE AND COSMOLOGY 244 Mr. Mippy as Story-Teller: A Legacy of Legend 245 vii (1) The Story of Joey’s Nose 245 (2) The Story of the Woodadji 248 (3) The Story of Three Springs 250 (4) The Birth of the Moon 252 (5) The Man in the Moon 253 “Always Do what You’re Told:” Mr. Mippy’s Pedagogical Purpose 254 TRADITIONAL BELIEF, CUSTOM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 260 “I Soundly Believed This:” a World of Spirits 260 “The Way We Cure:” Healing Practices 268 “That’s Tradition:” Perspectives on Death and Marriage 272 “These Little Things should be Told:” Mr. Mippy and the Natural Environment 275 “You Gotta Dig:” Identifying and Collecting Bush Tucker 282 “Getting what you Need:” Selecting Wood for Artefacts 285 SUMMARY 287 6. THE LEGACY AND THE VISION: AN OVERVIEW 291 Restructuring Identity 292 The Legacy: Other Perspectives 295 Aboriginal Identity in Contemporary Discourse 300 7. CONCLUSION 307 A VIEW FROM THE RIDGE 309 The Trail of the Swamp Hen 313 viii Appendix 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 316 Appendix 2: THE VOCABULARY OF THE LATE EDWARD MIPPY 325 Appendix 3: MR. MIPPY’S ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES (1959-1990). 337 BIBLIOGRAPHY 339 ix FIGURES page Fig. 1: Map of Nyoongar country according to Tindale (1940), showing the Yuat as one of fourteen Indigenous regions of the Southwest. xiii Fig. 2: Map showing major regional centres and districts of the Southwest. xiv Fig. 3: Map showing Perth in relation to Moora and other rural centres of relevance to this thesis. xv Fig. 4: The Narrier Family Tree. xvi Fig. 5: List of employers and positions held by Nyoongar people in Moora (1985). 189 Fig. 6: Table comparing words used by Mr. Mippy with common Southwest variants. 239 ILLUSTRATIONS between pages Mr. Mippy and woolcraft trainees take lessons in weaving at the Yuat Artefacts workshop. 194 & 195 Mr. Edward Mippy tests a newly-made didgeridoo. 206 & 207 Mr. Mippy poses with his daughter Diane and a neice, Maureen, after receiving the Advance Australia Award. 206 & 207 Mr. Mippy regales one of the children with a traditional tale. 245 & 246 Searching for the elusive kano plant and displaying some tubers. 282 & 283 x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Heading the list of those who assisted in the production of this work are members of the family of the late Mr. Edward “Ned” Mippy. To them I offer my sincere thanks for providing the approval, support and authority so necessary for a thesis of this kind. As members of my Aboriginal Reference Committee, Diane Mippy and Cheryl Chipper gave invaluable assistance in reading and commenting on the chapters as they became available. I wish to thank Diane in particular for contributing some important photocopies of personal, family records from the Moore River Settlement. Special thanks are also due to Mrs. Annette Roberts, of Dandaragan, who made available to me the audiotapes and transcripts of her oral history interviews with Mr. Ned Mippy and his wife. These lengthy, recorded interviews proved invaluable. Besides filling in many of the biographical gaps in individual and family histories, they provided unique information relevant to Mr. Mippy’s cultural understandings. I am deeply indebted to my two supervisors, Dr. Ernie Stringer and Dr. Philip Moore. Their combined efforts and complementary perspectives helped establish and refine an appropriate methodology for the thesis and were crucial in giving direction and focus to a mass of otherwise amorphous research material. The personal encouragement and guidance I received from Ernie, my original supervisor, was essential in helping to set and maintain the direction of the thesis, both in the early developmental stages and in the formulation of the final draft. xi To Dr. Philip Moore, I also owe a special debt of gratitude. Originally my assistant supervisor, Philip took over as first supervisor after Ernie Stringer’s departure for New Mexico. Always ready to help with information or advice, he continued to direct and inspire my efforts and brought to the thesis many new and important insights and perspectives. The door of his office at the university was always open to me. His prompt reading of thesis material, his unfailing optimism and personal interest ensured the perseverance of its author and kept the study true to its stated objectives. The indispensable guidance given by these two men was ably augmented by my assistant supervisor, Ms. Jill Abdullah, who greatly encouraged the research and ensured its compliance with the necessary Aboriginal Terms of Reference. John Scougall also helped greatly, contributing tuition and advice in methods of research, while the lucid perceptions and perspectives of Dr. Wendy Timms were indispensable in the task of giving an ethnographic dimension to the genre of biography. Dr. Leonie Stella, a member of my thesis committee, acted as a reader in the final stages and I am grateful for her useful and detailed advice. Dr. Ann Nihlen, an Associate Professor of the University of New Mexico, was particularly inspirational and helpful during her time as substitute supervisor on my thesis committee.