Jeannie Mills Pwerle b. 1965

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.