Yuwali Janice Nixon

Yuwali was born in the desert at Yulpu soak around 1947 and lived nomadically in the Percival Lakes area. Yuwali's first contact with Europeans occurred in 1964 when the government sought to clear Martu people out of an area destined for military weapons testing. A Patrol Officer pursued her family for many weeks, and she has since detailed this saga in her book, Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert (co-authored with Sue Davenport and Peter Johnson, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2005). After living in Jigalong mission, Yuwali worked on pastoral stations and returned to Punmu in 1982 as a foundational community member.

Photograph courtesy and copyright Tobias Titz.