Emmaus attends special ceremony honouring Angkuna Tjitayi, APY Lands Educator

Emmaus has had a 30-year relationship with Ernabella, a Pitjantjatjara community on the APY lands. 

Recently, staff (Esther Amoy and Neil Blenkinsop) and students from the Year 12 Aboriginal Studies class (Nick and Omariah) attended a ceremony at the University of South Australia during which Aṉangu teacher and cultural custodian Angkuna Tjitayi was conferred the title of 'University Fellow.' 

She was made a University Fellow in recognition of her immeasurable contributions to education in Anangu communities over the past eight decades. She is now over 90 years old.

“Angkuna can rightly be considered a national living treasure,” Prof Lloyd says. “She was among the first students at the original school of the Ernabella Mission in the 1940s, going on to become an educator. Angkuna is revered for her foundational and continuing contribution to early childhood education and schooling in the APY Lands.”

Angkuna is an Aṉangu Elder, artist, and one of the first Aṉangu teachers from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. 

She was initially a student at the Ernabella Mission school in the 1940s and then became the first Pitjantjatjara teacher at the school. She has educated hundreds of Anangu people across multiple generations. 

Angkuna’s daughters Katrina and Umatji are both influential education leaders across Pitjantjatjara schools and accepted the award on their mother's behalf.

It was a privilege to attend and support this wonderful ceremony.

Neil Blenkinsop

Head of History