Indigenous Beliefs about Little People

Indigenous people throughout Australia share stories about what they commonly refer to in Aboriginal English as “Little People.” They believe Little People are small people that can at times be seen by Indigenous people. This article shows that regardless of where Indigenous people are from in Australia, there are strong similarities in their stories and experiences of Little People and in their descriptions of Little People. The article shows that Indigenous people believe in the existence of Little People as contemporaneous beings and shows that they continue to have encounters with Little People today. If Indigenous people see them on their own traditional land, they see them as guardians of the land; if they are not on their traditional land, they see the presence of Little People as potentially frightening and hostile.