Born c. 1945 at Haasts Bluff in Central Australia Mitjili passed away in 2019.

In 1959 she and her family moved from Haasts Bluff to the new settlement of Papunya. It was here that she observed the men, including her brother Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula (deceased), painting.

Initially, Mitjili’s paintings followed the style of the artists from Papunya. On returning to Haasts Bluff she commenced painting in 1992 for the Ikuntji Women’s Centre. She soon developed her own style, drawing on her father’s Dreaming Uwalki, which is the story of the spear straightening ceremony taught to Mitjili by her mother.

Mitjili’s distinctive style was based on her father’s country, also called Uwalki, an area west of Haasts Bluff near the Kintore Ranges in the Northern Territory. Characterised by red sandhills, bushes and trees it is here that the spearwood trees used to make spears, are found.

Prizes/Special Awards
1999 – Alice Springs Art Prize
1994 – Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs
1993 – Australian Heritage Art Award, Canberra