Established as a Presbyterian mission in 1937 with enlightened practices which maintained the Pitjantjatjara language at the school and church services, Ernabella was handed over to the community in 1974 and was later named Pukatja.

Due to its links with the Northern Territory and proximity to the border, the APY Lands do not observe daylight savings unlike the rest of South Australia.

[9] In the 2001 census, Pukatja had 226 residents, and was second only to sister community Mimili in having the lowest per capita income in South Australia ($174).

[11] Ernestine Hill, after travelling in the area in the 1930s, wrote that colonisation only began there when the collection of dingo scalps (to help protect the sheep) by "doggers" started.

There was a number of pastoral leases on the edge of the Western Desert, established from the 1880s, but development was marginal in the Musgrave Ranges area.

In 1936 he persuaded the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to purchase the Ernabella lease,[13] an area of 500 square miles (1,300 km2),[12] despite some opposition from other members (including John Flynn).

[14][11] The mission respected the culture and traditions of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people, the two groups of the large Western Desert language bloc who now call themselves Anangu, and offered medical help and education, with no conditions attached.

In hindsight, although it created a safe space, it also entrenched the boundary and perhaps widened the gap between people at the Mission and wider society.

"Writing, reading and spelling, arithmetic, hygiene, drawing, singing, gardening, woodwork and sewing, geography and Nature Study" were all taught in Pitjantjatjara.

[12] In 1972, the community elders, who called Duguid "Tjilpi" ("respected old man"), wrote to him saying that they wanted him to be buried at Ernabella "so that Aborigines will always remember that he was one of us and that he faithfully helped us".

Duguid regarded this as a great compliment, and after his death on 5 December 1986, his body was flown to Ernabella and buried among his friends in the Mission Cemetery.

[20] In recent years, female elders have started to depict their Tjukurpa (sacred stories of country and law) in their art.

[19] Other artists associated with Ernabella Arts include Yilpi Adamson, Milyika Carroll, Malpiya Davey, Angkuna Kulyuru, Nura Rupert, Tjunkaya Tapaya, and Harry Tjutjuna.

The police officers' duties include liaison with and participation in the school, football team and local Country Fire Service (CFS) activities.

[37] In 2014, a Mobile Dialysis Unit, a specially designed truck fitted with three dialysis chairs started operation, visiting remote Aboriginal communities across South Australia, including Pukatja, Mimili, Kaltjiti and Amata in the APY lands, as well as Marla, Yalata, Coober Pedy, and Leigh Creek.

The first such clinic in remote South Australia, it was funded mostly by the federal government, but boosted by the sale of paintings by Ernabella Arts, which raised A$170,000 towards the centre.

At full capacity, the clinic can provide dialysis for up to 16 patients, but there is still a need for some short-stay housing to accommodate those who travel from elsewhere for treatment at Pukatja.

Work to monitor the species' survival was said to involve Aboriginal trackers and schoolchildren from Pukatja to help track the wallabies' movements.