Natives on islet murdered (7)

I believe the answer is:

nilotes

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'natives' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are plural nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'on islet murdered' is the wordplay.
'on islet' anagrams to 'NILOTES'.
However, I am not clear how this is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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