Contributors

Malya Teamay was born east of Uluru. He grew up at Tjulu (Curtain Springs), Utju (Areyonga), Mutitjulu, Tempe Downs and Pukatja (Ernabella). He has lived for a long time with his family in Mutitjulu. He is an advocate for land rights, an inaugural member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management and former Chair of the Nyangatjatjara Aboriginal Corporation. He is regularly called on for as a senior traditional consultant, liaison officer and spokesperson for Mutitjulu and the National Park. His painting is on the National Park entrance ticket and his works can be seen throughout the Cultural Centre, in National Park publications and national Art Galleries. He continues to play an important role with the Tjakura Rangers and teaches the next generation how to care for Country and keep Tjukurpa strong.

Sammy was born at De Rose Hill and lives at Mutitjulu. He is a former Chair of the Central Land Council, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management, and Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation. He has presented at national and international conferences on cultural heritage and tourism. He has established important cultural tourism ventures in the region and was a significant advocate for the Uluru climb closure. Sammy enjoys teaching tourists about Country, and says he is grateful for all he has learnt from visitors, including honouring his English language skills. Every week Sammy spends time sharing Tjukurpa with people around Uluru, including on his homeland at Patji, south of Uluru. 

Rene is an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural educator. Rene was born at Pukatja (Ernabelle) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands where she grew up before moving to Kaltukatjara. When Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was handed back to Traditional Owners in 1985, she moved to Mutitjulu with her family to work in tourism. Her most famous design is probably Yananyi Dreaming, which covers a Qantas Boeing 737. In 2000, Rene performed at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney and in 2015, represented Australia in the Venice Biennale. More recently she was a lead artist of the canvas that depicts the "Uluru Statement of the Heart" and a key contributor to the Seven Sisters Songline project that as been profiled in Berlin and Paris. Rene has served as a member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management, Central Land Council, Director for the NPY Women's Council, Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Rene was also a founding director of Walkatjara Art and a previous Chair of Maruku Arts. Her work is on display in the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, and in galleries in Belgium and Italy. When not creating art, Rene spends much of her time travelling far and wide as both an artist and an advocate for her people. 

Deborah Walkabout has strong family connections in Mutitjulu and spends much of her time painting at Walkatjara Art. She has a unique and vibrant style and most often paints depictions of Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) Tjukurpa. She is an excellent storyteller and her warmth and humour greets those who are lucky to meet her.

Mr Mitchell was born at Warakurna in Western Australia. He is a well-known Ngangkari (traditional healer), and continues to work at Alice Springs Hospital, The Purple House, and with the Uti Kulintjaku team at NPY Women's Council. In his early years, he spent time working around Mt Ebenezer, Angas Downs, Alice Springs, and Hall Creek as a stockman, droving cattle. He remembers his older brother walking from Angas Downs station to Kaltukatjara before there was a community there. At that time his family members were living on Country in small shelters made from tree branches and tent material known as wiltjas. Once houses were built at Kaltukatjara, he moved there and worked collecting firewood for older community members. He also worked for Central Land Council across many communities as he raised his family. Mr Mitchell is known for his cultural knowledge and continues to teach young men Tjukurpa and important cultural practices.

Sidney was born at Utju (Areyonga) and moved to Kaltukatjara by horse and camel when he was about 9 years old. When he finished school at Kaltukatjara, he worked building new houses for the expanding community. He is a former Chair of Kaltukatjara Community Council and has invested in communities across the region. For many years, Sidney worked for the Northern Territory Police as Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer, between Kaltukatjara and Mutitjulu, and also in Papunya, Lajamanu and Alice Springs. He also worked in tourism, taking visitors to Tjunti (Lasseters Cave) and telling the story of Harold Lasseter and his fatal search for a gold reef near Kaltukatjara. He is a former delegate of the Central Land Council and current Chair of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. 

Rosalind was born near Puta Puta, around 90 kilometres east of Kaltukatjara. She has lived and travelled throughout the Western Desert region. As a young girl, she lived in Putarti, before travelling through the ranges on a camel-drawn cart to Tempe Downs. At the age of seven, she moved from Tempe Downs to Utju (Areyonga), walking there with her family. Rosalind moved to Kaltukatjara with her three children, to move closer to her birthplace. Rosalind Yibardi is a senior artist and Director of Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art. She is also a member of the NPY Women's Council and the acclaimed Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. 

Ruby was born at Utju (Areyonga) before moving to Pukatja (Ernabella) by camel and horse. At Pukatja, she attended school whilst her mum and dad worked as shepherds at the Sheep Station. She travelled to Alice Springs, Aputula (Finke) and other places throughout the region before moving to Mulga Park and then to Kaltukatjara for her teenage years. She enjoyed schooling at Kaltukatjara before going to College in Alice Springs. She returned home to Kaltukatjara, where she invested in the next generation through a long and significant investment in education, leading literacy and bilingual education programs. She has worked for the Central Land Council in land management roles and enjoys painting landscapes of Country near Kaltukatjara.

Selina is a Director of Maruku Arts; an art collective of 900 Anangu artists belonging to over 20 remote communities. Selina was born at Kaltukatjara and is currently living at Mutitjulu. She is a celebrated artist and invested in her community as an Aboriginal Health Worker for 11 years at Kaltukatjara. Passionate about strengthening her community and culture, she has served as a Land Management Advisor with the Katiti-Petermann Indigenous Protected Area, and a board member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management. She is a strong ambassador for the arts, bringing Anangu culture to the wider world through workshops and exhibitions. 

Beryl De Rose is a talented Mutitjulu-based artist and has painted for Walkatjara Art for many years depicting local Tjukurpa stories through her intricate artwork. Her precise dot work and colour palette is inspired by the Central Australian landscape and over the years she has developed a highly sought-after style.

The Wintjiri Wiru Working Group has appointed Tapaya Edwards as their Chair. Tapaya is a young man of exceptional skill and knowledge of inma and Tjukurpa that traverse the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. From a young age, Tapaya showed aptitude and interest in learning the language and rhythm of inma, his dancing skills delighted senior Anangu. Tapaya was taught inma of the Maku (witchetty grub) by his grandfather at Mimili and his grandmothers at Amata instructed him in the songs and dances of Ngintaka (perentile lizard) and the male role of Wati Nyiru in the Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) Inm. Tapaya is a sought-after cultural advisor and interpreter across the region. He has represented Anangu in national conferences, and exhibitions and performances internationally, most recently in Berlin for the opening of Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters at the Humboldt Forum, and in Paris for Le Chant Aborigène des Sept Sœurs (The Seven Sisters Story).

A well-known Traditional Owner of Uluru, Reggie played an instrumental role in the official handback of Uluru by the Australian Federal Government in 1985. Reggie was born in the bush in Paramita, near Iwantja (Indulkana). He spent much of his life working as a stockman before returning to his father's Country at Uluru. Once back at Uluru, he worked as a ranger in the jointly managed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park before becoming a tour guide with Anangu tours. He has taught countless visitors his ancestral lore, is a leading elder in Mutitjulu community and a senior singer for inma (ceremony) at Uluru. Reggie is also a senior artist with Walkatjara Art, where he paints the Wati Ngintaka Tjukurpa. He continues to teach the next generation about Country and Tjukurpa to show them 'the right way'.

Awalari is a singer for inma (ceremony). She was born at Irrunytju (Wingellina), went to school at Pukatja (Ernabella), and has lived for many years at Mutitjulu. She has worked in many areas of research, land management, education and tourism in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, teaching her culture to visitors and others who have come to work in her Country. Awalari has also worked as an 'artist in residence' for Maruku Arts in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre. She enjoys teaching inma to the next generation.

Yuka grew up in Utju (Areyonga) and Tempe Downs in the Northern Territory. A senior traditional owner for Uluru, she has worked as a School Teacher, an Environment and Cultural Management Consultant, Tour Guide, Art Demonstrator, and Pitjantjatjara Language Teacher. A previous Chair of Maruku Arts and Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, Yuka has also served as a member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management. Yuka stands strongly for her peoples' traditional values as well as engaging in the challenges of modern times. 

Rene is an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural educator. Rene was born at Pukatja (Ernabelle) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands where she grew up before moving to Kaltukatjara. When Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was handed back to Traditional Owners in 1985, she moved to Mutitjulu with her family to work in tourism. Her most famous design is probably Yananyi Dreaming, which covers a Qantas Boeing 737. In 2000, Rene performed at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney and in 2015, represented Australia in the Venice Biennale. More recently she was a lead artist of the canvas that depicts the "Uluru Statement of the Heart" and a key contributor to the Seven Sisters Songline project that as been profiled in Berlin and Paris. Rene has served as a member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management, Central Land Council, Director for the NPY Women's Council, Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Rene was also a founding director of Walkatjara Art and a previous Chair of Maruku Arts. Her work is on display in the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, and in galleries in Belgium and Italy. When not creating art, Rene spends much of her time travelling far and wide as both an artist and an advocate for her people. 

Tapaya is a young man of exceptional skill and knowledge of inma and Tjukurpa that traverse the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. From a young age, Tapaya showed aptitude and interest in learning the language and rhythm of inma, his dancing skills delighted senior Anangu. Tapaya was taught inma of the Maku (witchetty grub) by his grandfather at Mimili and his grandmothers at Amata instructed him in the songs and dances of Ngintaka (perentile lizard) and the male role of Wati Nyiru in the Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) Inm. Tapaya is a sought-after cultural advisor and interpreter across the region. He has represented Anangu in national conferences, and exhibitions and performances internationally, most recently in Berlin for the opening of Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters at the Humboldt Forum and in Paris for Le Chant Aborigène des Sept Sœurs (The Seven Sisters Story).

Rene is an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural educator. Rene was born at Pukatja (Ernabelle) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands where she grew up before moving to Kaltukatjara. When Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was handed back to Traditional Owners in 1985, she moved to Mutitjulu with her family to work in tourism. Her most famous design is probably Yananyi Dreaming, which covers a Qantas Boeing 737. In 2000, Rene performed at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney and in 2015, represented Australia in the Venice Biennale. More recently she was a lead artist of the canvas that depicts the "Uluru Statement of the Heart" and a key contributor to the Seven Sisters Songline project that as been profiled in Berlin and Paris. Rene has served as a member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management, Central Land Council, Director for the NPY Women's Council, Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, and the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Rene was also a founding director of Walkatjara Art and a previous Chair of Maruku Arts. Her work is on display in the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, and in galleries in Belgium and Italy. When not creating art, Rene spends much of her time travelling far and wide as both an artist and an advocate for her people. 

Harry Wilson is a Traditional Owner of Uluru and grandson of Paddy Uluru. He is a sought-after interpreter and cultural consultant, having worked extensively in education, tourism, health and community development. He is a former Chair of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management. He continues to work to ensure the next generation hold Tjukurpa and keep it strong.

Ruby was born at Utju (Areyonga) before moving to Pukatja (Ernabella) by camel and horse. At Pukatja, she attended school whilst her mum and dad worked as shepherds at the Sheep Station. She travelled to Alice Springs, Aputula (Finke) and other places throughout the region before moving to Mulga Park and then to Kaltukatjara for her teenage years. She enjoyed schooling at Kaltukatjara before going to College in Alice Springs. She returned home to Kaltukatjara, where she invested in the next generation through a long and significant investment in education, leading literacy and bilingual education programs. She has worked for the Central Land Council in land management roles and enjoys painting landscapes of Country near Kaltukatjara.

Leroy Lester has worked extensively throughout the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park as a ranger and cultural guide. He learned from senior Anangu to teach visitors about Tjukurpa, Anangu values and how things operate in the desert. Leroy is passionate about looking after Country and is the son of land rights campaigner Yami Lester.

Denise Brady is an established artist from Kaltukatjara. Born in Amata, Denise has lived in Kaltukatjara most of her adult life and paints important stories of Country between her two homes. Denise is a former Director of the NPY Women's Council and has worked extensively as a Youth Worker. She was a Finalist for Hadley's Art Prize in 2019 for her painting Kamiku Tjukurpa Iritinguru (My grandmother's story from the past) and explains, "My paintings tell stories of desert tracks, which are embedded in the land from the past, but whose spirit is sustained into the future.'"