Sandra’s maternal grandmother is from the Tagalaka people of the Gulf Country in North Queensland. With a background in teaching Primary school, Sandra has dedicated the past twenty years to teaching Senior Visual Arts, concentrating on developing curricula for online education. Sandra has collaborated with her brother, Victor Steffensen, to illustrate children’s books that honour Indigenous knowledge. One such book, “Looking After Country with Fire,” was shortlisted in 2023 for The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children’s Literature and won the Karajia Award for Nonfiction. Another book, “The Trees,” illustrated by Sandra and written by Victor, has been nominated for the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards and shortlisted for the 2024 Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children’s Literature—Nonfiction and the Karajia Award—Nonfiction.
Sandra’s curriculum development emphasises the importance of Indigenous Knowledge as a valuable educational resource that can enrich the lives of all students and their communities. These knowledge systems, created through dialogue, experience, and conveyed through stories, art, and interactions with people and the land, bring humility and humanity to teaching and learning processes.
