Eastern Arrernte

Traditionally Atitjere is an important ceremonial area for peoples from Tobernorey, Ammaroo and Lake Nash as well as Santa Teresa, Ammonguna and Alice Springs camps. While the Eastern Arrernte people are the only permanent population of Atitjere, they have ties with people from the Alyawarra and Anmatjere Districts (associated with Utopia Artists communities). The Eastern Arrernte people saw title to their traditional lands in the North and North West Simpson Desert returned in 1994, when some 23,000 square kilometres of Simpson Desert land was handed back by the Federal Government at a ceremony at Akarnenhe Well, about 250km east of Alice Springs. The artwork of the Arrernte people has many aspects, including the water colours first painted by Albert Namatjira in the 1940s, bold acrylic paintings that reflect the native flora and fauna of the region and unique designs in pottery developed by the artists at Hermannsburg Potters.