“It’s about bringing Yolngu and balanda – white people – together,” he says. 

Witiyana is a Rirratjingu man, the Traditional Owners of the Gove Peninsula, and he wears that label with pride. 

He was a founding member of the iconic Aboriginal musical group Yothu Yindi. 

His love for music began with a childhood surrounded by traditional Yolngu songs. 

“My father and his brothers were all singers,” he says. 

Witiyana knew he was destined to perform after encouragement from his late father Roy to carry on the family songlines. 

“I already got the message from my father when I was young. He was a singer and a leader. He was a dedicated man.” 

He says his father – often called the Father of Land Rights – “knew everything”. 

Witiyana is proud to have helped introduce the sounds of his people, and their messages, to a wider audience. 

“I thought it would be something, a strong message.” 

All Yothu Yindi’s music is rooted in the songlines that Witiyana’s people have sung for thousands of years. 

“When they’re gone, I want to carry on the tribal sounds. 

“It’s about alliances, people coming together. The law of the land, about mother earth, father, sky and how we are connected to the whole cycle.” 

Witiyana says Yothu Yindi’s music aimed to unite people across cultural boundaries. 

“It’s about creation, creator and us. Everything is about this. From east to south, from south to west, west to north, and the totality in the centre.” 

He grew up in a large family, with seven brothers and four sisters. He was close with his family and acknowledges them for building his character. 

“As a kid I was sometimes shy, but around my father I felt confident.” 

Witiyana’s family decided to create an unnamed Aboriginal music group in 1985. They recognised his talent from a young age, and he was included in the lineup. 

“My father knew we were all talented. “ 

After merging with a white rock group named The Swamp Jockeys the following year, the new group was named Yothu Yindi, meaning Child and Mother. 

Witiyana was a founding member at just 16 years old. 

“My uncle invited me, chose me. He had seen me since I was growing up and that I was leader in my own right.” 

He recalls how excited he and his family were when their music began to take off. 

“My nephew said, ‘It’s a big world – and we are going to change it’. 

“I said, ‘With what?’. And he said, ‘I’ve got a guitar, you’ve got a didgeridoo. We can combine Yolngu lyrics and balanda lyrics’. 

“I was no longer scared or nervous because it was our duty to take our songs to them.” 

Yothu Yindi wanted to bridge the gap between white and black Australians, to combine and share culture. 

“We wanted to teach so the balanda world can hear and probably sing it.” 

Yothu Yindi would go on to tour the world, performing with legendary bands and in front of huge crowds. 

“Ever since ‘88,” he says, mimicking a spaceship taking off with his hand, “skyrocket!” 

Witiyana recalls performing for an audience of Hollywood elites when he was just 24 years old. 

“It was in 1994. We had John Travolta watching us with Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, Brown Sugar and Darryl Hannah.

“Our biggest opportunity was when Midnight Oil picked us to tour with them during the bicentennial – 48 states.” 

Witiyana, who survived rheumatic heart disease, a common condition in the Aboriginal community, now spends his time with the Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation, performing ceremonies and continuing to carry on his people’s traditional song lines. 

He says his role in the RAC is vital to keeping their culture alive and their voices heard. 

“My brother wanted me here. I’m able to step in for our fathers to stand up and be counted.” 

He still likes to perform on stage – he sang at the Barunga Festival in 2024. 

Witiyana is a fine actor and was highly praised for his performance in the 2020 film High Ground, which tells the story of a young mission-raised indigenous man joining forces with a white ex-solider after the massacre of his tribe. 

The film is a retelling of the Gan Gan massacre, where 30 Indigenous men, women and children were slaughtered by police and settlers. 

Witiyana says it’s important that the harrowing stories of what was done to his people are not forgotten. 

“It’s reality. We heard the stories around our campfires from our fathers’ fathers. There are so many stories here about how many pilots and how many missionaries were involved.” 

Witiyana portrayed grandfather Darrpa, but he originally had no intention of joining the cast. 

“My father saw me and he was so proud. My father was going to be the main character.” 

Unfortunately, his father fell ill and insisted his son take his place. 

“I’m proud of the movie; it was my first experience. I haven’t been to school or Broadway. It was natural.” 

Witiyana was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2024 for his work as a ceremonial elder and teacher of songlines. 

“It was a huge recognition. Your ability, putting yourself to be known by everyone and sharing and showing our culture to the world. And vice versa.” 

He repeatedly emphasises that the way for Indigenous and white cultures to understand each other is simply through sharing culture, ideas and stories. 

“It’s the only way to connect with the balanda world. To just go and be there and learn them so they can learn you.” 

Witiyana has had a long and varied career from music to film to teaching. 

He always remembers something his nephew told him when they were young men just entering the music scene after their simple lives in the Outback: “We made it – we kicked arse.”