Tauto Sansbury facts for kids

Tauto Sansbury (born around 1949, died 2019) was an important Narungga man. He came from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He worked hard to help Indigenous Australians throughout his life. In 2015, he received a special award called the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award. He grew up on an Aboriginal reserve, which was a special area set aside for Aboriginal people.

Early Life and Heritage

Tauto Sansbury was born at the Point Pearce Mission. This mission was located on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He also had family connections to the Kaurna and Wirangu peoples.

Working for Justice

Tauto Sansbury spent many years working to make things better for Aboriginal people. He especially focused on their experiences within the justice system.

Improving the Justice System

For over ten years, Sansbury was a leader in important groups. He was the chairperson of the South Australian Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Committee. He also led the National Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee. In these roles, he worked to improve fairness for Aboriginal people.

Other Important Roles

Sansbury held many other official and volunteer jobs. He was the chairperson of the South Australian Aboriginal Coalition for Social Justice. He also worked as a consultant for the Social Inclusion Unit. In this role, he talked to communities for a report called Breaking the Cycle.

More recently, he was a CEO and general manager in health. He also helped with Aboriginal employment. He even ran his own business called Garridja, which was an Aboriginal consultancy.

Starting the Freedom Movement

In 2014, Sansbury started a national movement. It was called the Freedom Movement. This group worked to speak up for Indigenous Australians across the country.

Political Involvement

Tauto Sansbury was a long-time member of the Australian Labor Party. He even ran for elections to represent people. However, in 2013, he decided to leave the party. He felt that it was not helping Aboriginal people enough, whether in power or not.

Later Life

Tauto Sansbury passed away on September 23, 2019. He had been unwell for about 15 months with an illness called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Awards and Recognition

Tauto Sansbury received many awards for his important work:

• 1996: He was named Aboriginal of the Year at the National NAIDOC Awards.
• 2003: He received the Australian Centenary Medal. This was for his work as a director. He led the Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Committee and the National Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee.
• 2014: He was honored as Male Elder of the Year at the SA NAIDOC Awards.
• 2015: He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the National NAIDOC Awards during NAIDOC Week.
• 2015: He also won the Dr Yunupingu Award for Human Rights at the National Indigenous Human Rights Awards.