David Gulpilil (1953-2021) *68

was an Australian actor and dancer, known for the films Walkabout, Storm Boy, Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Tracker.

He was an Aboriginal Australian of the Yolngu people who was raised in a traditional lifestyle in Arnhem Land in northern Australia, and was a skilled dancer as a young man when British director Nicolas Roeg recognised his talent. Gulpilil was probably born in 1953, although he states in the 2021 documentary about his life, My Name is Gulpilil, that he did not know how old he was. Local missionaries recorded his birth on 1 July 1953, based on "guesswork". He was a man of the Mandjalpingu (Djilba) clan of the Yolngu people, who are an Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.

As a young boy, Gulpilil was an accomplished hunter, tracker and ceremonial dancer. Gulpilil spent his childhood in the bush, outside the range of non-Aboriginal influences. There he received a traditional upbringing in the care of his family. He attended the school at Maningrida in North East Arnhem Land, where he was assigned the name "David". When he came of age, Gulpilil was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. His skin group totemic animal was the kingfisher (the meaning of the name Gulpilil) and his homeland was Marwuyu.