Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward is a respected elder of the Warakurna community and the Ngaanyatjarra people of Western Australia. A leader in her community, she is a cultural and community liaison officer for regional schools, a director of the NPY Women’s Council, an advocate against domestic violence, a qualified translator, an artist and a sought-after storyteller.
She has also spoken publicly on Indigenous deaths in custody.
Her story is documented in the film Mulyamaru’s Daughters, which follows her return to her father’s country after a long, enforced absence. As she learns from older community members, she takes on a growing leadership role in negotiations with the State of Western Australia.
In 2019, her portrait, Tjuparntarri – women’s business, painted by David Darcy, won the Archibald Prize People’s Choice Award. The two met when she walked into his studio looking for art supplies, and she later invited him to paint her in healing women’s colours.
She is also a painter. Her work Lirrun, my Country, held in the Art Gallery of Western Australia’s State Art Collection, depicts the country and surrounding hills near where she was born.