Vale Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE
It is with great sorrow that we acknowledge the recent passing of a visionary leader and influential educator, Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE.
Professor Buckskin, a Narungga man from the Yorke Peninsula, was appointed Director to Lowitja Institute’s Board in 2010, a role in which he served with distinction until stepping down in 2023.
During this time, he elevated the importance of Aboriginal-led health research, helping to shape policy and funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. He also played a pivotal role in championing Lowitja Institute scholarships to ensure continued support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early career researchers in health and wellbeing.
For over 40 years, Professor Buckskin’s passion was the pursuit of educational excellence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. From 2016 until his retirement, Professor Buckskin was the inaugural Dean: Aboriginal Engagement and Strategic Projects at the University of South Australia.
Professor Buckskin championed greater access to research and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. His career included working as a schoolteacher in Western Australia and South Australia, a Ministerial Adviser, Superintendent of Schools, and as a senior executive at both state and federal levels. He was also Chair of the SA Aboriginal Education and Training Consultative Council and a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.
His commitment to advocating for truth and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was profound and enduring through his work in reconciliation, and the co-design for enshrining an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice into the South Australian Constitution. He was Co-Chair of Reconciliation South Australia, was appointed a member of the Voice Co-Design Senior Advisory Group in 2019 and was Co-Chair of the Local and Regional Co-design Group in 2020.
Internationally, in 2009, Professor Buckskin participated in the Working Group of Experts to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that reported to the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. He was also an Executive Member of World Indigenous Network of Higher Education Consortium.
Professor Buckskin has received numerous awards throughout his lifetime including the Commonwealth Public Service Medal, Frank G Klassen Award for Leadership and Contribution to Teacher Education in 2001. More recently, he was awarded the 2020 NAIDOC South Australia Lifetime Achievement Award and, in 2025, was a guest speaker for the AIATSIS Wentworth Lecture.
Lowitja Institute offers its deepest condolences to the Buckskin families and kin.
His legacy continues through the next generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, educators, and knowledge holders.
