Born during a time when there was an official license to hunt, stalk and kill the San, Katrina Esau abandoned her San identity and stopped speaking N|uu when she was a teenager in 1950. She identified as an Afrikaans speaking Coloured (term for people of mixed race in South Africa) from 1950 until 1996. When Katrina finally disclosed her true San identity,  she was 67 years old and there were only 19 other N|uu speakers alive. Unfazed by her inability to read or write, Katrina embarked on a quest to save N|uu – the language she was once  ashamed of.

Her mission to revive her language  saw Katrina start a N|uu language school in 2002. She was at the forefront of the creation of the first ever N|uu book – !Qhoi N|a Tjhoi, as well as the first bilingual dictionary of N|uu.  Amongst many other accolades, Katrina has been awarded the Order of the Baobab by the South African Presidency as well as an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town.