Wandjuk Marika

Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE (1927–1987), was an Aboriginal Australian painter, actor, composer and Indigenous land rights activist. He was a member of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Early life.
Wandjuk Djuakan Marika was born in 1927 on Bremer Island (Dhambaliya) in the Northern Territory. He was the eldest son of Mawalan Marika and his wife Bamatja. Marika was a member of the Rirratjingu group of the Yolngu people. Marika was educated at the Methodist Overseas Mission at Yirrkala.
Career.
His paintings expressed his people's traditional religious beliefs, and included "Djang'kawu Story" (1960) and "Birth of the Djang'kawu Children of Yelangbara" (1982). Djang'kawu is the founding ancestor of the Riratjingu in traditional stories.
He co-founded the Aboriginal Arts Board in 1973, and became chairman in 1976. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire that same year.
His name was given to the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award, a category of the prestigious National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, awarded annually by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. His portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, and several of his paintings feature in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
As an actor, Marika appeared in the films "Where the Green Ants Dream" (1984) and "Initiation" (1987). He also appeared in the television miniseries "Women of the Sun". He was both actor and composer in "Where the Green Ants Dream".
He was the author of "The Aboriginal Children's History of Australia".
Activism.
Marika wrote frequent but unsuccessful letters to the Australian federal government to protest against mining activities on Yolngu lands. In August 1963 he helped to send the first of several bark petitions to the Commonwealth government protesting the decision to grant mining leases on the Gove Peninsula. The Bark Petition was the first Indigenous document to be officially recognised and accepted by the Australian Parliament.
Marika lobbied for the creation of the Aboriginal Artists Agency in 1973 to protect the copyright of Aboriginal artists and Indigenous intellectual property.
Personal life.
Wandjuk Marika was the uncle of Raymattja Marika.