Early history The Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people (
aṉangu) had lived in this area for many thousands of years. Even after the
British began to colonise the Australian continent from 1788 onwards, and
the colonisation of South Australia from 1836, the
aṉangu remained more or less undisturbed for many more years, apart from very occasional encounters with a variety of European explorers.
20th century In 1921, with white settlement now beginning to encroach on the
aṉangus traditional land, the South Australian Government proclaimed the North-West
Aboriginal Reserve. This Reserve consisted of most of what is now known as the APY Lands, with the exception of the eastern part of the APY Lands, which was given over to pastoral leases to Europeans. In 1937, the
Presbyterian Church council, spearheaded by
Charles Duguid, established the Ernabella Mission on the Lands at the place now known as
Pukatja. By the 1950s, many
aṉangu were living at the Ernabella Mission, while many others lived at camps on pastoral leases on what are now the Lands, or nearby, where they would work. Those pastoral leases included
Granite Downs, Everard Park, Victory Downs, De Rose Hill, Kenmore Park, and Mount Cavanagh. In 1961, to prevent overcrowding at Ernabella Mission, the Church established what became the community of
Amata, but which was originally known as Musgrave Park. At the same time the Church also established what is now the community of
Kaltjiti, but which was then known as Fregon. In 1968, what is now the community of
Indulkana was established by the South Australian Government, as a base from which to provide welfare services to
aṉangu living in camps on pastoral leases, where work was becoming increasingly difficult to find. At that time, the surrounding area was excised from pastoral leases and declared the Indulkana Aboriginal Reserve. The body now known as Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara was formed in 1981 by the passing of the
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981 by the
Parliament of South Australia under Premier
Don Dunstan, and includes the
Pitjantjatjara,
Yankunytjatjara and
Ngaanyatjarra groups. "Ara Irititja" is a project of the APY, commenced in 1994 to identify, copy and electronically record historical materials about the Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara people). Its purpose is to prevent the loss of the history, and to allow the teaching of it to others in the
community.
21st century By 2007 the peoples of the region had not had any major
economic development, apart from
tourism, but there had been proposals to
mine in the area. The opal fields of
Mintabie came under separate governance that time. The
Musgrave Block in the Lands has been viewed as having billions of dollars in potential
mineral deposits and
petroleum. But
anangu have been wary of opening up the area to mining, concerned about the impact on
sacred sites and the
environment. In 2003 mining companies were conducting discussions to try to allay these worries. A 2004 parliamentary report on an inquiry by a select committee led by Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Terry Roberts examined the shortcomings of the 1981 Act, which had not addressed entrenched social and economic problems in the Lands. The review noted shortcomings in the delivery of human services and infrastructure, and identified a "need to address the issue of the overall governance of the AP Lands and to formalise arrangements within an Act of Parliament and/or the Constitution of Anangu Pitjantjatjara". After wide consultation and consideration of many submissions, the committee made 15 recommendations. One of these was the establishment of a permanent police presence, as one of several strategies used to combat the problems of
petrol sniffing and
family violence. In July 2007
South Australia Police in co-operation with liquor outlets in
Coober Pedy (250 km to the south-east entrance to the Lands) agreed to create a register of alcohol purchases, to enable police to identify persons who purchased large quantities of alcohol in Coober Pedy potentially for transportation into Aboriginal lands. Also in July, Commonwealth Indigenous Affairs Minister
Mal Brough offered federal help for a "drug and alcohol crackdown" in South Australian Aboriginal lands – such as the APY Lands. In early August 2007, the
Rann South Australian Labor Government announced
A$ 34 million package to "improve well-being of Aboriginal people" in the APY Lands. $25m was to be spent on improving housing and most of the remaining $8m on law enforcement in
Amata and
Pukatja. In November, SA Police Commissioner Mal Hyde announced the signing of a new enterprise agreement for South Australia Police that would include incentive packages to lure police to work in rural and remote areas such as the Lands. In May 2008, retired
Supreme Court judge the Hon
Ted Mullighan QC delivered his supplementary report to his
Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry, entitled the "Children on Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands Commission of Inquiry – a Report into Sexual Abuse" (aka "the Mullighan report"). In December 2009 the South Australian Parliament passed the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights (Mintabie) Amendment Bill, which was an amendment to the
APY Land Rights Act 1981, the
Opal Mining Act 1995, and by-laws under the
APY Land Rights Act 1981, affecting the mainly non-
Indigenous residents of the opal-mining town,
Mintabie. This amendment changed the licensing system for residential and commercial premises effective 1 July 2012, allowing the Minister responsible for the
Opal Mining Act to grant licences. A 2017 report found many instances of non-compliance with the 2009 Amendment as well as other problems occurring in the settlement of Mintabie. It recommended closure of the township, with control reverting to APY. After an appeal by residents failed, the final eviction date for the township was set at 31 December 2019. In March 2024, the Kulilaya Festival was held at Umuwa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1981
APY Land Rights Act. It had been delayed for three years owing to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, musicians, and dancers presented their history and stories to commemorate the occasion. The word
kulilaya approximates to the meaning of "listen", and was the name of a land rights protest song that was sung frequently in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and since then sung regularly by the Ernabella Choir, the APY Choir, and the Iwiri Choir. Several
inma ceremonies were performed, politicians from across the spectrum attended the festival, and performers included
Dem Mob,
Docker River Band, the Iwiri Choir, Mala, the Pukatja Band, and Desert Rain. ==Geography and location==