Jorna Napurrurla Nelson

Jorna Napurrurla Nelson was born in 1928 or 1932 near Mt Doreen, west of Yuendumu, and passed away in Nyirripi in 2011. A Warlpiri speaker, Jorna lived in Yuendumu and at times in Nyirripi, both Aboriginal communities in Australia’s Northern Territory.

As a young girl, Jorna lived a traditional nomadic life with her parents as hunter-gatherers in the desert, learning about Country in the traditional way. After Yuendumu was established in 1946 and became home to a Baptist mission in 1947, Jorna and her family were among many Warlpiri people who had settled there by 1955.

Jorna began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation in 1987. She painted her mother’s and father’s Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories, which had been passed down through generations for millennia and were directly connected to her land, its features, flora, and fauna.

Jorna often painted sacred sites and the animals and plants found in the surrounding Country. Bush food continued to be hunted and gathered during her life, and Jorna loved hunting with family and friends for goanna, kangaroo, snakes, and witchetty grubs, as well as collecting bush tucker including native currants, bush bananas, and bush potatoes.