Jeannie Mills Pwerle has garnered much acclaim for her distinct style of
depicting anaty, the pencil yam, and kame, its tiny seeds. The
pencil yam is a trailing herb or creeper plant, often found in the sandy banks
of dry creek beds, with heart-shaped leaves and long swollen tubers. It is an
important source of carbohydrate in the Utopia region, and also holds
significant spiritual meaning – a great deal of song and ceremony are dedicated
to the pencil yam, as it is both a food source and a healing medicine. Jeannie has intimate and
extensive knowledge of her ancestral country and the flora and fauna that bring
abundance to Indigenous people of the arid desert regions. Jeannie is a
respected healer in her community, and teaches others about bush foods and
native medicinal plants.