Kanu (Karnu) Nancy Taylor (c.1941-2019) was a Warnman woman, and the younger sister of artist Minyawe Miller. As a young woman, she and her family travelled extensively in the Karlamilyi (Rudall River) and Kulyakartu regions, from the heart of Martu Country to its northeastern boundary.
By the 1960s, the last of the Western Desert pujimanpa [desert dwellers] had relocated to Jigalong, Marble Bar, Nullagine and Port Hedland, where they were living and working on missions and pastoral stations. Following a prolonged and severe drought, Kanu and her family collectively came to the decision to walk in from the desert. After travelling hundreds of kilometres on foot they were finally picked up by a truck driver they encountered at Oakover River who drove them to Balfour Downs, where they were collected by Jigalong Mission staff.
At Jigalong, Kanu married Wokka Taylor (dec.). The couple lived and worked together on several cattle stations throughout the Pilbara. Eventually, the couple relocated with their family to Parnngurr Aboriginal Community as foundational community members during the Return to Country movement of the 1980s.
Photograph by Tobias Titz.