Pukatja

Pukatja (Ernabella) Community is located in the Musgrave Ranges in South Australia about 30 km south of the Northern Territory border. It lies approximately 450km south west of Alice Springs.

Pukatja is an Anangu community on the Pitjantjatjara Lands in the north west of South Australia. The Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Lands are held on freehold title under the terms of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Land Rights legislation. People not covered under the terms of this legislation require permits to enter and work on the Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Lands.

In the 1930s, two Protestant Christian missions were established; one at Warburton (WA) and the other at Ernabella (SA). The population at Ernabella has remained static since the mid-40s to the present time. The Church passed over control to the Government in the early 1970s.

Kinship ties cover three groups within the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. These are the Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, and Yankunytjatjara peoples. Many people have ownership status to specific areas of land in the region around Pukatja. Homelands, each consisting of two or three families, are serviced from Pukatja.