I had the opportunity to live on the APY Lands while doing a practicum for my degree in social work. I feel I was blessed to have this opportunity, to live in a community and learn through others what life is like for other Indigenous communities outside of Canada. I put together this power point to share some of my teachings, as well as experiences, with my colleagues who were honoring Social Work day in various ways, one being connecting to us students who were in other countries to share experiences. I was living on the APY Lands and unsure if I would have a connection to Skype, this is how the power point idea originated. I have cited my sources and the photos were all taken by myself.

1. Pukatja (aka Ernabella)
South Australia

2. ~ Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, South Australia
~ Established: 1981 Area: 102650 km² (39,633.4 sq mi)
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) is a
large Aboriginal local government area located in the
remote north west of South Australia.
~ Consists of the Pitantjatjara, Yankunvtiatiara and
Ngaanyatiarrs Peoples (or Anangu), and has a population of
around 2500 people.

3. To enter the APY Lands a permit is
required. This holds everyone who
enters the lands accountable for their
actions and reasons to be on the
lands.
No alcohol is permitted on the APY
lands, nor is petro allowed to be
brought in. Not only is no petro
allowed on the lands, the fuel has
switched over to Opal fuel.

4. “A 2008 review found
petrol sniffing in
Central Australian and
APY lands
communities dropped
by over 90 per cent in
the 12 months
following Opals
introduction.”
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2011/new-
guideline-improves-management-volatile-substance-use

5. Pukatja (aka Ernabella)
This is where I’m situated – there are approximately 500
people living within this community, not including those who
come to work here.

6. I am here to learn about the people, the culture and to
immerse myself within the community. I am not
established with any set agency and have my own
agenda. I am still working on my goals, some of which
include:
• showing respect for cultural ways (which I’m learning)
• keeping an open mind (which can be challenging)

7. • practicing Anti-oppressive practice – choose my
words carefully, do not use power words nor
condoning words which further oppresses or
marginalizes, this ties in with a Strengths Based
Approach
• learn from the people, both those who reside here as
well as those who work on in the APY Lands.
• Stay sane! I’ve come to realize how vital self care is
while being on the lands; it is isolated and extremely
different than being able to go home at the end of the
day.

8. The Churches Role
Ernabella was established as a Presbyterian mission in 1938. Dr.
Charles Duguid who was the advocate for the establishment of
Ernabella laid down the following principles:
“There was to be no compulsion nor imposition of our way of life on the
Aborigines, nor deliberate interference with tribal custom ... only people
trained in some particular skill should be on the mission staff, and ...
they must learn the tribal language”
Anangu people started gradually to come in from traditional life in the
desert to live at the Mission after its establishment. The mission
respected Anangu culture and traditions and offered medical help and
education, with no conditions attached.
Responsibility for the administration of Ernabella Mission was formally
handed over to the Ernabella Community Council — later Pukatja
Community Council — on 1 January 1974
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pukatja,_South_Australia

9. There are many parallels within our Indigenous
communities and the Anangu peoples in Australia;
both have experienced assimilation, the stolen
generation, cultural
genocide, marginalization, stereotyping, oppression, p
overty, addiction...and the list goes on.
There are a lot of „white‟ people working on the lands
and the Anangu peoples residing here have seen many
„white‟ people come and go. Generally most people
come to work in the APY Lands for a year or two, then
they leave. The Anangu peoples refer to those who
come and go as “white clouds”, here one moment and
gone the next.
Is it any wonder that it is difficult to develop
relationships with the amount of strangers coming and
going?

10. I am feeling what it is like to be the outsider, the one being
watched, and it is not easy by no means to develop a relationship
with the people. However, after being in Pukatja for two weeks and
making my presence known, I’m making progress. A few of the
ladies now greet me, some of the younger children say Pelyia
(sp?) (hello) and I am now working alongside of the lady who runs
the daycare. (More on the daycare later.)
I have visited three schools on the APY Lands, four if I count
AnTEP, and there is a vast difference between the schools.
One of the communities is cold and hard; what I mean by this is
that they have feuding blood lines situated within the same
community, this is cause for violence.

11. There is a belief amongst these people, if one does another harm
payback is important. If, for example, a man was driving a vehicle
and carried a passenger and both died in a car accident, the
brother of the man who died would be the one to receive payback
for the wrong-doing, even if it wasn’t the man’s fault to begin with.
I hope not to see any type of payback while I’m here! Apparently
one time the police barricaded themselves in their
station, payback can get pretty nasty and can involve many within
a community or it can be two communities feuding.
In days gone by payback involved a spear in the thigh, that was
for a wrong-doing. The communities had their own law and
consequences for breaking their laws, and still do to a degree.

12. Men’s Business
(I’m not sure exactly how often this transpires) When a boy is ready
to become a man he is taken by an Elder , generally quite a few boys
are taken at a time; they take the young men into the
wilderness, teach them the necessary skills for survival and they can
be gone for lengthy periods of time. Currently there have been boys
away with the Elders since January, apparently the ritual generally
doesn’t last this long, so the boys who will become men and the men
who teach the boys could be home any time now.
One of the rituals is to knock out one of the young mans front teeth, I
am not sure what the significance of this is, but this is one of their
cultural ways.
Also nobody is to wear red while men’s business is being carried out.

13. Ernabella Arts
Ernabella Arts, established in
1945, is a place where senior
women and men as well as young
women and men practice and
develop Anangu art, in order to
sustain, support and promote
cultural heritage, and to improve
the lifestyle of community’s
members.
http://www.ernabellaarts.com.au

14. Services
Police Station - The police
are often out in the
communities, they travel
around so seldom is
anyone in the office.
Clinic – two nurses on
staff and one
doctor, the doctor is
generally out in the
various communities
working.

15. Day Care
The Daycare is an interactive program, parent(s) and/or caregiver(s) can bring
their pre-school children in and do crafts, play, interact with other families, or an
array of different things. There is a bathing station available, hot lunches are
prepared by the parent(s) or sometimes by the worker.
The goal is to have both the children and the adult learning; there are
scrapbooks made for each child, the staff takes the photos, the parents or
caregivers make the album and adds English titles to the work. It is an amazing
program!
Recognizes the
parent(s) or the
caregiver(s) as the
first teacher

16. Ernabella
Anangu School
Ernabella School is participating in the following Smarter Schools
Partnerships Strategies in 2011. This includes:
All children are engaged In and benefitting from schooling
Young people are meeting basic literacy and numeracy standards, and
overall levels of literacy and numeracy achievement are improving
Schooling promotes social inclusion and reduces educational
disadvantage of children, especially Indigenous children
Australian students excel by International standards: and
Young people make a successful transition from school to work and
further study.
http://www.ernabella.sa.edu.au/

17. tafeSA
Thus far I have seen this
building used for a domestic
violence course, the course was
four weeks long and was being
presented to men.

18. Anangu Teacher Education Program
“The Diploma in Education (Anangu
Education) and the Bachelor of Teaching
(Anangu Education) are programs developed
by UniSA to support the aspirations of
communities in the …APY Lands to provide
teacher education to Anangu whilst they
reside in their home communities.”
AnTEP

19. The one and only store in Pukatja, where there are
limited supplies and everything is astronomically
priced… but at least it’s a store where one can
purchase essentials. The sad thing is that the people
who live here use this store as their place to shop for
their groceries, the nearest community with
supermarkets is 5 hours away. The truck delivers food
once a week, on Friday’s.

20. Desert
Dwellers..
A few I’ve
captured

21. Until we all meet again…
Cheers from the land down under.

22. References
http://www.ernabellaarts.com.au/
http://www.ernabellaarts.com.au/mainpages/about.html
http://www.ernabella.sa.edu.au/
http://www.ernabella.sa.edu.au/docs/ernabellaAnanguSchool_ssnpp.pdf
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2011/new-guideline-improves-management-
volatile-substance-use
http://www.ns.uca.org.au/2010/06/celebrating-the-history-of-ernabella-mission/
http://programs.unisa.edu.au/public/pcms/program.aspx?pageid=333&sid=437
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pukatja,_South_Australia
Photos: Darlene Marchuk