Important contributions to the study of the Gurindji were made by the young Japanese scholar Hokari Minoru before his premature death. Hokari immersed himself in their narratives of the Gurindji experience of the white occupation of their land and, responsive to their complaints that whatever they had transmitted to outsiders ended up locked far away in Australian cities, always had them vet his writings. His primary informant was Jimmy Mangayarri.
Native title
The Gurindji people of the Northern Territory are best known for The Gurindji Strike, or Wave Hill walk-off, led by Vincent Lingiari in 1966, protesting against mistreatment by the station managers. The strike would become the first major victory of the Indigenous land rights movement. A small part of their traditional lands, subsequently known as "Daguragu Station" was handed back to them in 1975 as a Northern Territory pastoral lease, by the then Australian prime minister, Gough Whitlam– paving the way for further land rights victories in Australia. In 1984, after a hearing under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976, and 1981 recommendations made by the original Aboriginal Commissioner, Justice John Toohey, they were granted inalienable freehold title to almost all of the area originally transferred back to them by Whitlam, of their tribal land. A final small portion of the Daguragu lease was recommended by the later Commissioner, Justice Maurice, in 1984. Much of Wave Hill pastoral Station, however, remains in non-Indigenous hands. Gurindji people share many similarities in language and culture with the neighbouring Warlpiri people. Two Gurindji communities are Kalkarindji and Daguragu, a community settled on land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. Municipal and other services to both communities were provided by the Daguragu Community Government Council until 2008 when it was replaced by the Victoria Daly Shire which has a regional office located in Kalkarindji. The township of Kalkarindji is 260 hectares. It was gazetted as an open town in September 1976. Kalkarindji is located on the Buntine Highway. Daguragu is located 8 km north of Kalkarindji via a bitumen road. Permission from traditional owners, through the Central Land Council, is required to visit Daguragu. Daguragu became the first cattle station to be owned and managed by an Aboriginal community. It is still owned and managed by the Murramulla Gurindji Company. The Council also services a number of outstations where traditional owners reside. Traditional owners belong to the Gurindji language group. There are also other residents of Daguragu and Kalkarindji who belong to other language groups, including the Warlpiri. At the 2016 Australian census, the combined population of Daguragu/Kalkarindji was 575 of which 517 identified as "Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people". In August every year, a large celebration is held at Kalkarindji to mark the anniversary of the strike and walk-off. Known as Freedom Day, people gather from many parts of Australia to celebrate and re-enact the walk-off.
