Forced out of school early by racism, she became a nurse, before working as a journalist. She helped to found the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, among many other entities. In the early 1970s, as a prominent activist for Aboriginal rights, Sykes was invited to speak on racism, rights and colonialism in countries including the UK, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Aboriginal Australian Elder using her own experiences to help and educate others.
Pacheedaht activist Harriet Nahanee made headlines in 2006 when the septuagenarian was arrested by Vancouver police protesting a highway expansion that would damage Eagleridge Bluffs land and ecosystems, in preparation for the 2010 Olympics.
Tahltan elder Lillian Moyer was 67 when she was arrested in 2006 in northern British Columbia and a First Nations blockade that had been preventing a mining company from exploring the Todagin Plateau for copper and gold.
Laila Haglund was an archaeologist who played a significant role in the framing of legislative protection for Aboriginal sites in Australia.
Tarahumara poet, essayist, translator, and social activist.
Australian political activist for the rights of Indigenous people
In her work with Aboriginal girls and for Aboriginal human rights, she showed a leadership beyond that suggested by the evangelical tradition she came from.
1800s Ojibwa spokeswoman
Scottish-Australian philanthropist