Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers, please be advised that this article contains the name and image of an individual who has passed away.

Yamaji trailblazer Dr Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith passed away at the age of 63 on Wednesday, on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja, surrounded by her family.

Dr Papertalk Green Smith was born in Eradu Railway, close to the Greenough River. She was a proud Wajarri, Badimaya and Wilunyu woman of the Yamaji Nation, Midwest Murchison, Western Australia.

Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith will be deeply missed, and her legacy has left a lasting impression on Aboriginal literature, arts, and those who were fortunate enough to have been graced with her presence.

Her truth-telling through words and art has transcended boundaries that uplift Aboriginal communities and empower Yamaji women and the Aboriginal nations to shatter glass ceilings.

She notably completed her doctoral dissertation called Ngatha Wangga (I Talk). Little Yamaji Woman: Big Yamaji Narratives instilled cultural pride, strength and power in the Yamaji matriarchs, holding space for the stories that were untold under discriminatory legislation that aimed to erase Indigenous identity, yet her words are proof that Yamaji identity and sovereignty stand strong.

Dr Papertalk Green Smith was the recipient of both the prestigious Australian Literary Society Gold Medal and Victorian Premier's Literary Award, Prize for Poetry in 2020, in recognition of her poetry compilation of Nganajungu Yagu.

Dedicated to her mother, this work spoke to the testimonies of the unbreakable love between an Aboriginal mother and her child, the importance of kinship, and the appreciation of the struggles and sacrifices that Blak mothers made in the name of love for their children.

Her ancestral gift of truthtelling has placed her works as a winner of the 2023 Magabala Fellowship, and in the same year, she was inducted into the WA Women's Hall of Fame.

A widely respected academic, Dr Papertalk Green Smith was the Chair of the Yamaji Art Centre, and was described as "A much loved mother, wife, grandmother, family member, a leader, a mentor, and a friend to many.... Always offering a guiding hand and an ear to those in need" in a statement made by the Yamaji Art Centre.

May Dr Charmaine Papertalk Green Smith's spirit return to the wildflowers of Yamaji Barna, and her unflinching, compassionate nature will continue to ignite the sovereign fire of the future generation and honour the strength of those who came before her. Her activism will be found on the walls of art exhibitions and in academic publications, her lifelong commitment to giving a voice to her people.

Her legacy will be carved into the hearts and spirits of her children, grandchildren, countless friends and colleagues who felt the ripples of her presence.

May she rest in power.

Her family asks for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time. The details of her funeral are to be confirmed.