[5] Created to give a collective identity to the 46 groups who found themselves frequently in conflict because of their disparate linguistic and cultural backgrounds, one source says that the term was devised by the Manbarra elder Dick Palm Island.
[6] It is a collective name adopted for the many Palm Islander peoples who, as distinct from the Manbarra (who were there before the reserve was established, but had been moved onto the mainland by the Queensland Government in the 1890s[7]), were subject to coercive displacement from a wide-ranging number of Aboriginal communities on the mainland.
[8] Bwgcolman is also used as a descriptive term in recent claims for native title, where the Bwcgolman are described as the "historical people", while the Manbarra are (arguably) the traditional owners (although this has not been determined by law, and the Bwcgolman "historical people" have an Indigenous land use agreement with the government).
The traditional background of these people is often not known, although individuals trace descent from some 43 different tribal groups.
The occasion was a time of mourning for many descendants of the Stolen Generations created by the forced removals.