The Pintupi Nine is a family of two woman, their four sons and 3 daughters who were known as the last Aboriginal group to live as Hunter Gatherers in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia. The family lived like their ancestors had for thousands of years, and it was only by accident that they were found near Lake Mackey in Western Australia. What eventuated was a bit of a media circus, during which they were labelled 'The Lost Tribe'.
Pintupi family members from left Yukultji, Takariya and Yalti and pictured right, Warlimpirrnga. Photo: Safia Desai and Alana Mahony 2013.
When you have no idea of the modern world, when things like a car seem foreign, sugar tastes like nothing you have experienced, how would that feel? The Pintupi nine family experienced that in 1984 when they were found by chance near Lake Mackey in Western Australia.
The family was thrust into the media spotlight, labelled ‘The Lost Tribe’, displaced from their home and made to feel ashamed due to their lack of clothing. Understandably the Pintupi Nine shunned all other contact with media.
Last year it was the 30th anniversary of the Pintubi Nine family being discovered, and due to a relationship built up over time between NG Indigenous Media (based in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia) and the family, some of the family members decided to share their story for the first time in this in-depth documentary, The Pintupi Nine which features in this week’s episode of Te Ahi Kaa.
Story told by the Pintupi family: Walampiri, Yurrkultji, Talti, Takeria, Thomas and Walala.
Pintupi Nine - Produced by NG Media
Executive Producers: Safia Desai and Alana Mahony
Voice Overs: Uncle Jack Charles, Melodie Reynolds, Lisa Maza and Gregory J Fryer
Narrator: Daniel Browning
Scored by: Alex Gooden
