DR ROBERTA SYKES was born in the 1940s in Townsville and is one of Australia's best known activists for Aboriginal rights. She received both her Master and Doctorate of Education at Harvard University, has been a consultant to the NSW Department of Corrective Services and the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, was the Chairperson of the Promotions Appeals Tribunal at the ABC, and is the author of several books, including Love Poems And Other Revolutionary Actions (1979) and Mumshirl (1981), as well as having contributed to or co-authored numerous publications, journal articles, conference papers and screenplays. Snake Cradle was published in 1997.
