Renowned teacher, writer, public speaker, activist, and artist Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann from the Nauiyu community in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, has been named the 2021 Senior Australian of The Year. Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann became the first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher in the Top End in 1975, when she became a principal in Nauiyu. She later became an art consultant for the Department of Education where she visited schools across the Northern Territory to advocate the inclusion of visual art as a critical element of every child's education. When presenting her award, the judging panel said that it was her dedication to maintaining the cultural independence of her people and her role as a spokesperson for an Aboriginal worldview, that motivated the selection.