Mutitjulu is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

community in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

located at the eastern end of Uluṟu (also known as Ayers Rock). It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluṟu, and is located in the

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs al ...

. Its people are

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

and joint managers of the park with Parks Australia. At the 2011 census, Mutitjulu had a population of 296, of which 218 (71.2%) were Aboriginal. The majority of the Anangu (people) are Pitjantjatjara but there are also associated

Yankunytjatjara The Yankunytjatjara people, also written Yankuntjatjarra, Jangkundjara, and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. Language Yankunytjatjara is a Western Desert language belonging to the Wati lan ...

Luritja The Luritja or Loritja people, also known as Kukatja or Kukatja-Luritja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the Derwent River, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte p ...

, and Ngaanyatjarra people with the languages spoken being Pitjantjatjara, Luritja, and Yankunytjatjara.

Arrernte people The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia regi ...

also have a traditional relationship with Uluṟu.

Tourism

Mutitjulu community run a number of guided tours for tourists visiting Uluṟu, who show tourists certain sites, and share Tjukurpa the story of Uluṟu, as well as of its inhabitants. These tours are called Anangu Tours, from the Pitjantjatjara word Anangu which means "people". Access to the community is controlled by Anangu, who do not allow visitors to go to Mutitjulu community without permission. The community reserves the right to forbid visitors from entering their land. The people of Mutitjulu are also the traditional owners of Uluṟu, and have an art exhibition there where they sell paintings and other artefacts.

Economy

Much of the economy of Mutitjulu comes from tourism at Uluṟu and nearby

Yulara Yulara is a town in the southern region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It is an unincorporated enclave within the MacDonnell Region. At the , Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099, in an area of . It is by road from the World Heri ...

, a small proportion of which is funnelled back to the local economy. Despite this, Mutitjulu is not wealthier than most other

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

communities.

Art centre

Maruku Arts & Crafts is a large and successful

-owned and -operated enterprise, run by Anangu (people of the Western and Central Deserts of Australia) since about 1990. It has a warehouse based in Mutitjulu, a retail gallery at Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Cultural Centre, as well as a

market stall A market stall or a booth is a structure used by merchants to display and house their merchandise in a street market, fairs and convention (meeting), conventions. Some commercial marketplaces, including market squares or flea markets, may permit m ...

town square. Its artwork consists mainly of paintings and

woodcarving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...

s. With about 900 artists in the collective, it provides an important source of income living in remote communities across

central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

. It seeks to "keep culture strong and alive, for future generations of artists, and omake culture accessible in an authentic way to those that seek a more in-depth understanding". In May 2017, the artwork surrounding the signatures on the ''

Uluru Statement from the Heart The ''Uluru Statement from the Heart'' is a 2017 petition to the people of Australia, written and endorsed by the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders selected as delegates to the First Nations National Constitutional Conv ...

'' was created by artists from Maruku, led by Rene Kulitja, and painted by artists Christine Brumby, Charmaine Kulitja, and Happy Reid. This work was represented in lights at the Parrtjima light festival in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

in April 2023. Maruku is one of ten Indigenous-owned and -governed enterprises that go to make up the APY Art Centre Collective, established in 2013.

Mutitjulu Band

The Mutitjulu Band is led by Kimberley Taylor and David Honeymoon. They have performed at the Araluen Arts Centre in

, at a NAIDOC event in Mutitjulu, at Voyagers resort in Yulara. They subsequently had songs recorded at the ABC recording studios in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and have grown in popularity.

Education

The community has a school which services students from Year 1 to Year 7, and a high school, Nyangatjatjara College. The cultural traditions of Mutitjulu dictate that once reaching adolescence, children must be taught only with peers of the same sex. Nyangatjatjara College is a boarding school, and hosts the young men and young women of the community separately in consecutive semesters. As with housing and health, education standards at Mutitjulu, are far lower than the Australian average.

Language

Languages spoken are Pitjantjatjara,

and

. Communication between the languages, however, is not difficult as most residents speak several languages and these Aboriginal languages are closely related, all being mutually intelligibly varieties of the

Western Desert Language The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family. The name ''Wati'' tends to be used when considering the various varieties to be distinct languages, ''Western Desert'' w ...

. Efforts are made to preserve traditional customs, including traditional languages, but some English is spoken by most residents. The level of English literacy by Mutitjulu residents is higher than in many

communities primarily due to the regular exposure to tourists at Uluṟu.

Relationship to Uluṟu

Many stories have been told by Indigenous Australians from all around

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

about Uluṟu. Some of these stories are recreated in

paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...

and

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

, and many relate to the

dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...

. Uluṟu is seen as having an explanation for why we are humans, and the stories help to describe much of the surrounding

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

Climbing of Uluṟu

The local Indigenous community from 1990 requested that visitors respect the sacred status of Uluṟu by not climbing the rock, with signs posted to this effect in late 1989. In 2017 the

board decided unanimously to ban the activity, from October 26, 2019.

Ownership of Uluṟu

The Anangu consider themselves caretakers rather than owners of Uluṟu. For many years, Uluṟu was controlled by non-Aboriginal Australians, with motels placed close by. Traditional owners who had been forced out of the national park returned and settled at Mutitjulu, and worked towards restoring their

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

. Tourist facilities have been moved about 24 km north to

, just outside the national park boundary.

Title handback

Title to the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park was returned to the traditional owners on 26 October 1985.