Professor Henry Atkinson, is the former spokesperson for the Yorta Yorta Council of Elders, was raised in Echuca and has strong ties to his Country. When the Yorta Yorta people lost their native title claim, it made him all the more determined to reclaim their culture and rights.

Uncle Henry is acutely aware of how difficult it is for Indigenous people in South-east Australia to be recognised as Aboriginal people compared with those in Alice Springs, where his adoptive family live.

He wore the Yorta Yorta cloak at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The Yorta Yorta community at Echuca were involved in making the cloak with the support of artist Treahna Hamm.

Click here to watch Interview: Yorta Yorta Elder Professor Henry Atkinson.