I was born in the bush near present day Coober Pedy. At 10 weeks old I became a member of the Stolen Generations.

I live at Umoona Aboriginal Community in Coober Pedy. I am a volunteer for the Women’s Group, and Director of Umoona Community Council.

I am the most Senior Elder and Traditional Owner of Coober Pedy and surroundings, and I am a Senior Elder of the APY Lands.

My family are from South Australia’s Far North, from the time of the establishment of the first British Colony in 1788, with our laws and customs unbroken.

Mark Campbell is a Pitjantjatjara man from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Mark works for Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC) across the APY Lands, with a particular focus on the Mimili and Amata communities in the Far North.

PYEC is an Anangu led organisation that works to ensure Anangu children receive quality education and support in both Anangu and Piranpa (Non-Indigenous) ways.

Mark is especially passionate about APY living well on Country, supporting cultural education, and extinguishing domestic violence. He is also a strong advocate for more culturally appropriate approaches to mental health.

Chris has a strong connection with the Mimili community and is a Mimili Maku Council member.

He works in land management, undertaking a range of biodiversity conservation and cultural protection projects, following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather Tommy Dodd, who inspires Chris every day.

Jonathon was born and raised in the Amata community within the APY Lands.

A leader and senior man in the Amata community, he has a strong knowledge of country, culture and law in this area and works closely with the community and school services to improve outcomes.

His first language is Pitjantjatjara and he takes pride in talking to all leaders as well as outsiders in Amata to keep the community growing and moving in the right direction.

As a First Nations Voice representative, he aims to improve living and education outcomes for those in the Far North region.

Melissa Thompson, a Pitjantjatjara woman, grew up in the Black Hill homeland near Umuwa in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

She is the Deputy Chair for Iwiri, an organisation based in Port Adelaide that supports people visiting Adelaide from the APY lands, and a Minister at the Adelaide Congress Ministry in Salisbury North.

Melissa is a member of the Department for Human Services (DHS) Taskforce that looks after people staying temporarily in the Adelaide Parklands.

Her extensive community background also includes working as a police aide in the APY lands and a young executive role with the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council. Melissa is dedicated to the support and wellbeing of people from the APY lands.

Angela Watson was born in 1966 in Warburton, a remote community in Western Australia, and is the daughter of Angampa Martin, a renowned Irrunytju artist. As a young child, Angela and her family relocated to Pipalyatjara, where she continues to live today.

In the early 2000s, the first Aboriginal art studios were set up in the western region of the APY Lands. It was during this time that Angela started her arts practice. Her artworks draw influence from ‘tjukurpa’ (traditional stories), particularly those of ‘Minyma Kutjara’ (Two Women Dreaming) and the Mamu Tjukurpa (Spirits Tjukurpa). They are both important stories from her father’s country, Irrunytju, which lies just over the border from Pipalyatjara in Western Australia.

She works with bold, graphic colour palettes and is notable in her use of both contemporary techniques and composition to tell the traditional story.

Bio to come