Roy Marika

rdf:langString Roy Marika

rdf:langString Roy Dadaynga Marika MBE (c.1925 – 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian artist and Indigenous rights activist. He was a member of the Marika family, brother of Mawalan 1 Marika, Mathaman Marika, Milirrpum Marika and Dhunggala Marika. He was the leader of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people from 1970 onwards, and the president of the Yirrkala Village Council on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. The Marikas were involved in Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (named after Roy's older brother Milirrpum, also known as the Gove land rights case). All five were politically active for the rights of the Indigenous Australians, and four of them were well-known Aboriginal artists. Roy and his four brothers led the other clans in presenting the Yirrkala bark petitions to the Australian Government, in the lead-up to the Gove land rights case. He acted in two films: Werner Herzog's Where the Green Ants Dream (1984), and Banduk (1985). Roy's daughter was Raymattja Marika and his son is Banula Marika.