Helen Curtis Australian, Pitjantjatjara, b. 1973

Helen was born in 1973 in Alice Springs hospital over 600kms from her traditional country Cave Hill, near Amata, where she grew up. Cave Hill is the songline of the Seven Sisters' Tjukurpa; an important Dreaming site for the central desert people. Her family moved to Mutjitjulu at Uluru (Ayres Rock) where she worked as a guide for Anangu Tours. She taught visitors about Aboriginal culture and traditional food collection and preparation.

Today Helen lives with her mother Angkaliya Curtis at Nyapari Community. Located about 100kms south of Uluru, Nyapari is set at the base of the majestic Mann Ranges in the heart of country traditionally owned by the Pitjantjatjara people. These ranges known to Anangu as Murputja, likening the mountain to the bony ridge of a person’s spine, are the source of many water holes and traditional camping places.The homelands of Kanpi, Nyapari, Angatja, Umpukulu and Tjankanu have grown from these seasonal camping places into permanent settlements.