Raymattja Marika AM, also known as Gunutjpitt Gunuwanga, (c.1959 – 11 May 2008) was a Yolngu leader, scholar, educator, translator, linguist and cultural advocate for Aboriginal Australians.
She was a Director of Reconciliation Australia and a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
[5] She was born into the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people, and lived in Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
She devoted her professional career to education, and worked to bridge the gap between Australia's Aboriginal peoples, especially her native Yolngu, and the wider English-speaking mainstream society.
[2][6] Marika was considered a leading expert of Yolngu customs and languages in north-east Arnhem Land, including the community of Yirrkala and the Gove Peninsula.
[7] Marika understood the pressures placed on the Yolngu's small language group, called Yolŋu Matha, due to bauxite mining in the area, which commenced during the 20th century.
Dr Marika endeared herself to all of us as a mentor, reconciliation advocate, a passionate and gifted educator, academic, interpreter, translator and a wonderful mother".