Indigenous Australian Literature and Authors

[Mandapanda]

One of our new members Ken, kindly reminded me that today the 1st Sept is Indigenous Literacy Day! (check out their website.) To help celebrate I've listed here a few books that have an Indigenous Australian focus. Feel free to add any books you would recommend on this great subject.

[[deleted user]]

Captain Reg. Saunders was the first commissioned Aboriginal officer in the Australian Army.


Capt. Reg. Saunders (Aboriginal hero)

The nineteen twenty’s saw his birth,
out in Victoria’s wild west,
raised by his loving grandmother,
he passed with ease his manhood test.

From the Gunditjmara tribe,
upon the Framlingham reserves.
I’ll try to honour this great man,
and in a way he so deserves.

While at the sawmill working hard,
continued yearnings grew within,
to fight for south Americans,
for him they always felt like kin.

Instead this proud Australian lad,
who’s now, nineteen years old at least,
signs up, for the worlds second war,
then shipped out to the middle east.

Surviving German aircraft strikes,
he thinks he’s granted a release.
Sent to the European fight,
the conflict being fought in Greece.

Now this disastrous doomed campaign
for many allies now on Crete,
orders were given to retreat
while facing imminent defeat.

This hero Aboriginal,
who's strength with family regains,
again he joins battalion mates,
now fighting in New Guinea’s rains.

Received promotions from the ranks,
then leads his men as sergeants do,
respected by them all because,
he was not false, but just true blue.

Within the final months of war,
now leader of his own platoon,
He misses family and home,
and peaceful nights beneath the moon.

Heard how his brother won’t return,
they’ll never share a fire at night.
He lies now in a jungle grave,
killed in Kokoda’s deadly fight.

Home working as a shipping clerk
now finds it hard to settle down,
he then works as a labourer
at building sites around the town.

When the Korean war began
he quickly signed up once again,
farewelled his children and his wife
hopes one day soon to be with them.

Returns a Captain of his men
the 3rd battalion R.A.R.
And won the hearts of those with him,
best leader they all had by far.

He fought the battle of Kapyong,
recorded by historians,
outnumbered drove the Chinese back,
those Aussies and Canadians.

once, he was interviewed and asked,
about Australia’s own and bred
indigenous battalion group,
so, now I quote what he then said.

------------------------------------------------------

“The Americans had negro officers,
but they all mostly handled negro troops.
I’m dead against the idea,
it would mean demarcation and a separateness.
They would be treated as something apart,
that would be bad and break my heart”

------------------------------------------------------

Resigned in nineteen fifty four
worked in the logging industry,
he then moved onto Sydney’s shore
this famous Aborigine.

I know I tribute just one man
when many ‘aussie’s’ gave their life,
although they’re Aboriginals
they were as one through all the strife.

I sometimes sit in disbelief
why Aussie’s don’t know more of Reg.
And how, himself made history
reciting his first soldier’s pledge.

When honouring our Aussie greats,
include within their company,
these men who walked their same footsteps
our true blue Aborigine.

David J Delaney
26/05/2010 ©

[Mandapanda]

Outstanding David!

[[deleted user]]

Thank you Mandy, & here is my contribution to the 'stolen' generation.

Gone

I cry my child; you’re wrenched now from my heart
taken away, we’re forever apart
the church white collar men say it’s the way
no longer your life, you have no say.

I cry my child, now stolen from our clan
locked away you’re now an angry young man
beaten and whipped to follow white mans rule
now forced to believe you are a fool.

I cry my child, for you, I’ll never hold
I’ll never forget you when growing old
and miss you when roaming throughout our land
walking creek beds or the desert sand

I cry my child; these men seek our women
they shave their head, then work them like stockmen
they’re taken from their ancient way of life
bed with white man, never called a wife.

I cry for my land, old ways disappeared
Gone is the lifestyle when my food was speared
Gone is the hope, traditions of our land
Gone is the time, we, were proud and grand.


David J Delaney
07/04/2009 ©

[Vicki]

David wrote: "Thank you Mandy, & here is my contribution to the 'stolen' generation.

Gone

I cry my child; you’re wrenched now from my heart
taken away, we’re forever apart ..."

Beautiful. So poignant.

[Colleen]

This is my contribution...

BIAMI’S LAMENT
The days of the towris have long drifted by
And Biami sighs sadly from his place in the sky.
For his people have drifted from their sturdy ways,
When the European landed and upset his days.

Gone are the Laws at which they were devout,
That kept them together and each knew about.
Gone are the corroborees, songs and pictures too!
Now Biami’s people, the white ways drift through.

Poor people of Biami, you wander through your fear,
No longer knowing the Laws you held so dear.
What is for them now? And the new generation?
No more Biami! Just misery and land sensation!

[[deleted user]]

Very nice work Colleen, could relate to so many of the indigenous tribes.

Here is a 'tanka' effort I wrote.

Lost life

Standing on the beach
their way of life unchanged
watch as white men land,
now wise elders hang their heads
for tribal ways won’t remain

David J Delaney
28/06/2010 ©

[Mandy]

David wrote: "Thank you Mandy, & here is my contribution to the 'stolen' generation.

Gone

I cry my child; you’re wrenched now from my heart
taken away, we’re forever apart ..."

This brought a tear to my eye.

[Mandapanda]

I found this list of Indigenous Literature on the blogsite of Stephanie 'Read in a Single Sitting'. It's not exhaustive but it's a start. Anyone who would like to add some authors or events to this list please do so.

http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2...

Alexis Wright Kim Scott Larissa Behrendt Philip McLaren Sam Watson Terri Janke Bruce Pascoe Jared Thomas Archie Weller Doris Pilkington Garimara Boori Pryor Sally Morgan Anita Heiss Tara June Winch Lorraine McGee-Sippel Marie Munkara

As you might see if you click on any of the above authors, there is no bio or photo attached to the author's profile page. I have seen this many times since starting to collect books by Australian authors for our group bookshelf. Because I have Goodreads librarian status (very easy to get) I have been able to edit lots of Aussie authors pages and add this information. If anyone is interested in updating the above author's pages it would be an excellent project.

I feel these authors are important to our literary history and they deserve to have accurate and interesting profiles here on Goodreads. So if you have the time and inclination please have a go! You can find author biographies and photos via Google. Click here to apply to become a Goodreads librarian.

[Mandapanda]

I'm renewing this thread in the Talk Genre folder as a venue for following and discussing our indigenous authors and their work. If anyone has any suggestions or comments feel free to write your thoughts here.:)

P.S. Does anyone know of awards or blogsites for indigenous books or perhaps you have some authors you'd like to mention here...

[Dee-Ann]

Why warriors lie down & die: Towards an understanding of why the Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land face the greatest crisis in health and education since European contact : djambatj mala

This book is non fiction, and I believe the author is non-Indigenous, but he lived with indigenous people in Arnhem Land for over a decade and this book is a fascinating, if not controversial, description that indigenous people in this region have with health services (and can be applied to other services inc justice). This book challenges your sense of what is normal.

[Mandapanda]

We have a bookshelf in our Aussie Readers group called 'Aboriginal Australia' that has quite a few books (mostly non-fiction) if you're interested in looking. Feel free to add books to this shelf as well.:)

http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...

[Dee-Ann]

Mandy wrote: "We have a bookshelf in our Aussie Readers group called 'Aboriginal Australia' that has quite a few books (mostly non-fiction) if you're interested in looking. Feel free to add books to this shelf a..."

I think I did it ... I also added it to a few other shelves ... if inappropriate, please feel free to remove ... I did not know these bookshelves were there, you have done so much work - wow!

[Velvetink]

Mandy wrote: "We have a bookshelf in our Aussie Readers group called 'Aboriginal Australia' that has quite a few books (mostly non-fiction) if you're interested in looking. Feel free to add books to this shelf a..."

I've a number of Aboriginal books on my shelves ~ how do I add them?
Thanks

[Mandapanda]

Velvetink wrote: "I've a number of Aboriginal books on my shelves ~ how do I add them?..."

Thanks Velvetink and Dee-Ann.

To add books to our group bookshelf click on "bookshelf" at the top right of this page. In the new search bar that comes up on the left of the page, type the author or name of the book you want to add. When the book appears you'll see a little gray box to the right that says "add to group". Click on that, then click on "choose shelves". Select "Aboriginal Australia" then click "save". You can select more than one shelf if you think that's appropriate.

[Mandapanda]

Dee-Ann wrote: This book is non fiction, and I believe the author is non-Indigenous, but he lived with indigenous people in Arnhem Land for over a decade and this book is a fascinating, if not controversial, description that indigenous people in this region have with health services..."

Yes that's the right place to put it. Even if it's not written by an Indigenous author, if the book is about Indigenous issues, history, culture or places I think it's worth mentioning here and putting on our bookshelf.

Yes the Aussie Readers group bookshelf has been a labour of love!:) You can 'sort' it by author or book title or date added to help you find specific titles. Or if you click on one of the 'shelves' to the left you can see all the books from your favourite genre. Our group bookshelf is for books by Aussie authors or about Australia or have Australia as a setting.

[Velvetink]

Mandy wrote: "Velvetink wrote: "I've a number of Aboriginal books on my shelves ~ how do I add them?..."

Thanks Velvetink and Dee-Ann.

To add books to our group bookshelf click on "bookshelf" at the top ri..."

Thanks Mandy! I have added the ones on my shelves & tried not to double up with ones you already had, if I have accidently doubled up just delete those.

[Mandapanda]

Yay!! Thanks Velvetink.:)

[Velvetink]

Heard about this book on ABC Radio National yesterday driving home from Sydney.
"Islam Dreaming: Indigenous Muslims in Australia" by Peta Stephenson. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96...

You can hear the podcast of the program "The Spirit of Things" here;
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/spiritofthings/...

"Part Aborigine and part Afghan, 'Ramiz' realised he did not 'fit in' and spent his youth finding alternative paths, until his life hit rock bottom. That was when Islam offered a way out. Also on the program is Dr. Peta Stephenson, author of Islam Dreaming: Indigenous Muslims in Australia, who has surveyed the phenomenon of Aboriginal Australians turning to Islam.

Dr Peta Stephenson
is an ARC Fellow with the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne. She is currently researching 'Islam in Indigenous Australia'. This is the first national study of this recent phenomenon and its historical antecedence.

Further Information

Dr Stephenson's Academic Homepage
The Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne. According to the website, Dr Stephenson's research project "will recover the existence of a religious and cultural phenomenon that goes back to pre-colonial times and, not only persists today, but enjoys a renewed vitality. To date the long history of absorption and transformation over time of imported Islamic religious ideas and customs in Indigenous Australia has been overlooked. The project's recovery of these experiences makes an essential contribution to an enlarged understanding of Australia's roots and traditions that will significantly add to our country's on-going project of collective self-definition."

For those wanting to know more about this subject, Islam Dreaming will be launched in Sydney at Gleebooks, Tuesday 7 December, 2010

[Velvetink]

In today's online edition of Australian Georgraphic they have a news article on The Myall Lakes Massacre.

An infamous massacre of Aboriginal people at Myall Creek is gaining the prominence it deserves.
http://www.australiangeographic.com.a...

The article also mentions two books on the subject.
Waterloo Creek by Historian Roger Milliss 1992
and
Demons at Dusk by Peter Stewart.
I have added them to the bookshelves.
cheers
V

[Mandapanda]

Thanks for both these posts Velvetink. You really give us something to think about. I particularly agree with the Rev. John Brown's words, "I sensed, in travelling around the country, that there were many places of painful memory for Aboriginal people ... particularly massacre sites. And in talking with Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people I said 'I think that we need at some point, to go back to some of the painful places in our shared history'." Very true!

[Murray]

I've been reading Culture Crisis: Anthropology and Politics in Aboriginal Australia recently. It's a very interesting debate about the reasons for the NT Intervention and the effects it's had. Anthropologists are divided with some saying it's racist and a land grab, while others say that something had to be done.

It's probably too academic for most readers, but the anecdotes and opinions are well worth reading.

[Murray]

I assume we're talking about Australian Indigenous literature here, but there's some great literature by other indigenous groups out there. If I can stretch the topic a little further and call Bhutanese people indigenous (can you be indigenous if you haven't been colonised?) then I must recommend Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan. It's about a dog who was a man in a past life so understands human language. The story follows him from his days as the runt of the litter to becoming the leader of the pack in the capital and shows Bhutanese life through the eyes of a local.

[Laura]

I've just started this novel (is going to be a quick read) and am enjoying it. itikani by Stanislav Moc. The author is white (Czech by birth) but has spent a lot of time living in the Kimberley and working with the locals there. The book is told from the point of view of a young aboriginal man who is a medicine man in training and is in love with a girl from the wrong skin group.

[Mandapanda]

Sounds interesting Laura. I'll add it to our bookshelf.:)

[Mandapanda]

A great resource for finding information on Aboriginal languages, written and visual media and plenty of other fascinating issues is the AIATSIS (Australian Institute Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Studies) website.

[Mandapanda]

Stanner Award 2011
Emerging Indigenous authors, scholars and academics are invited to enter the 2011 Stanner Award.

The award is open to Indigenous Australians over 18 years of age who have written a scholarly manuscript in the area of Australian Indigenous studies, as broadly understood, which does not include fiction and poetry.

Entries for the 2011 Stanner Award open on Monday 1 November 2010 and close at 5.00 pm, Monday 31 January 2011 – with the winner announced during July’s NAIDOC Week 2011.

The Stanner Award

[Mandapanda]

The David Unaipon Award

Named in honour of David Unaipon (1872-1967), the first Indigenous author to be published, this annual literary competition is now in its 15th year. The competition is open only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors who have not been published. Entries are accepted in any writing genre or Indigenous language. The winning entrant receives a guarantee of publication by University of Queensland Press and $15,000 prize money to be awarded by the Premier at the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Presentation and subsequently celebrated in a ceremony held at the Brisbane Writers Festival.

Previous winners of the award can be found here.

[Mandapanda]

The Smith Family have set up a literacy program called Books, Books, Books, which focuses on improving literacy among indigenous children in Cherbourg in Qld. The program encourages indigenous children to wrote their own storybooks, and The Smith Family will select three storybooks to be published on their website later this year.

[[deleted user]]

Please have a look at this site, the editor of their monthly newsletter has asked permission to publish one of my poems in their Christmas edition, I have also sent a couple of my indigenous related poems.

http://www.hiwg2005.websyte.com.au

[Mandapanda]

Thanks David, that's a great website; Honouring Indigenous War Graves Inc.

[[deleted user]]

A poem about the 'stolen' generation.

Where Did My Mum Go

I sat by a big iron gate
Waiting
Waiting for my Mum to come back

And black kids like me beckoned
Are you coming in?

I laughed then asked if they knew where my Mum had gone
You are one of us they said
Stolen
Come on in

We are all waiting for our Mum’s to come back

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About this poem
You’re currently reading
“Where Did My Mum Go”
Written and Published by Paul Buttigieg

[Mandapanda]

Winner of the 2010 Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature: Anita Heiss

Manhattan Dreaming is the third chick-lit book by Wiradjuri author Dr Anita Heiss. It follows her best selling books Not Meeting Mr Right and Avoiding Mr Right. This book follows the career and love life of Lauren Lucas, an Indigenous Curator at the National Aboriginal Gallery in Canberra, who is offered a posting at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. Lauren is torn between her love addiction to the star Canberra Cockatoos football player and the fantastic job. Anita has a PhD in Aboriginal Literature and is a dedicated advocate for Indigenous literacy in Australia. Read more.

[Dee-Ann]

Mandy wrote: "Winner of the 2010 Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature: Anita Heiss

Manhattan Dreaming is the third chick-lit book by Wiradjuri author Dr Anita ..."

this sounds good .... another book on my TBR list

[Tango]

I've just started reading Carpentaria which won the Miles Franklin in 2007. Has anyone else read this?

[Mandapanda]

The Indigenous Literacy Project have updated their website for the 2011 Indigenous Literacy Day on 7th September.

Indigenous Literacy Day aims to help raise funds to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions. We need your support to help raise funds to buy books and literacy resources for these communities.

In our suggestions for 2011 discussion one of our group members asked about fundraising for a good cause. I thought this might be a cause of interest to our group. One suggestion as to how we could donate money would be:
Whenever you receive a second hand book from another group member you make a gold coin donation. We already have a thread discussing how to set up a bookswap using your personal bookshelf on Goodreads; Aussie Goodreads Book Swap discussion. Perhaps the person sending the book could forego the price of postage. Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

I wish I'd known about this before Christmas too! The National Library of Australia produced beautiful Christmas cards (profits went to the Indigenous Literacy Project). I'll try to remember to advertise this for christmas 2011! In the meantime if you're still wanting a 2011 calendar you could buy the stunning First Fleet Art Calendar. Proceeds going to the same cause.

[Mandapanda]

2010 Human Rights Literature Award Winner Announced

The winner of the 2010 Human Rights Literature Award was announced in December 2010.

The nonfiction award, which is sponsored by The Co-op Bookshop, was awarded to John Host and Chris Owen for It's Still in My Heart, This Is My Country: The Single Noongar Claim History (UWA Publishing). The book was commissioned in 2009 by the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council to present as evidence as the Single Noongar Native Title Claim over Perth and South-West Western Australia. It also received the 2010 Margaret Medcalf Award which is presented in recognition of work that shows excellence in using State Archives.

The Human Rights Awards are presented annually by the Australian Human Rights Commission in recognition of the contribution to Australian society by community members committed to issues of human rights, social justice and equality. Awards are presented in the categories of Law, Community (Organisation), Community (Individual), Literature (nonfiction), Print Media, Television and Radio. A Human Rights Medal and a Young People’s Human Rights Medal are also awarded each year. More information about the awards and the 2010 recipients can be found here.



Source: http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/...

[Mandapanda]

Australian book on Oprah's horizon

Now that Oprah Winfrey's Ultimate Australian Adventure is over, she might have time to sit down and read Australian Ros Moriaty’s Listening to Country: A Journey to the Heart of What It Means to Belong (Allen & Unwin).

Qantas presented a copy of the book to each of the audience members and film crew touring Australia with her.

Moriarty writes about her husband’s Aboriginal family in remote northern Australia and her time spent in the Tanami Desert with women from the oldest culture on Earth.

The book is seen as a starting point for readers all over the world to gain an understanding of the Australian physical and cultural landscape.

Moriarty will be doing two events at Writers at the Convent, Abbotsford. February 11-13. For details, visit www.writersattheconvent.com

See the Youtube trailer for the book here.

[Mandapanda]

check out the Aboriginal Writers Festival on 19th March at the NSW Writers Centre, Sydney.
Website: http://www.nswwriterscentre.org.au/ht...

Interested in going? We'd love to hear your feedback from the festival!

[Mandapanda]

Reposted from another thread:

From the the Wheeler Centre.

Congratulations to Kim Scott, who has been named the winner of the southeast Asia and Pacific regional Commonwealth Writers‘ Prize. Nominated for his novel, That Deadman Dance, Scott thus becomes eligible to win the overall prize.

Scott is an indigenous Western Australian writer – a descendant of the Noongar people – and he previously won the Miles Franklin Award in 2000 for his 1999 novel Benang: From the Heart.

Scott becomes the first indigenous Australian to win the prize, although he was quoted in The Age as taking little satisfaction from the achievement: “It bothers me a bit because it says what a history of disadvantage we’ve had when indigenous Australians have always been storytellers. It’s really sad.”

That Deadman Dance adds to a growing canon of Australian literature (including Kate Grenville’s The Secret River) re-imagining the compelling drama of early contact between indigenous Australians and the early waves of European settlers. Scott’s telling adds a specifically Western Australian dimension to first contact literature.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

It Is No Secret: The Story Of A Stolen Child by Donna Meehan. Donna actually lives very near my library in Edgeworth, NSW, and we are hoping to get her to come along to chat at one of our bookclub get togethers.

This book was published in January 2000, and it's the true story of Donna's life, how she was taken from her mother and family at age 5, and sent to a foster family in Newcastle. It tells of her struggle with her identity, of becoming an only child in a white family. It's a sad tale, but very uplifting.

I've added it to my TBR list, as I'm very interested to read Donna's story.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Thanks Carmel..I'll let you know if we manage to get her to our library too.

[[deleted user]]

Mandy wrote: "The Indigenous Literacy Project have updated their website for the 2011 Indigenous Literacy Day on 7th September.

Indigenous Literacy Day aims to help raise funds to raise literacy levels and im..."

I really love that first fleet calendar. I hope they do something like it again next year. I saw it too late for the current year.

[Deb]

I'd recommend Snake Cradle by Roberta B. Sykes as a great biographical work. Roberta Sykes was born in Aus, but of a white mother and african american father, so not strictly indigenous in heritage, but recognised as an activist for indigenous rights.

This is the first of a trilogy, I haven't read the others, but this book was very hard hitting and a compelling read.

[Mandapanda]

Chair of the Indigenous Literacy Project wins Australia Day Award

"Gleebooks owner and chair of the Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) David Gaunt was among those recognised in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

Gaunt received the Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia ‘for service to the arts through the promotion of literature, particularly as a supporter of Australian authors, and to the bookselling and publishing industries’.

Gaunt told the Weekly Book Newsletter he was 'thrilled' at the news, and was particularly proud of the reference to the Indigenous Literacy Project in the full citation." Read more here.

[Ruby]

This week I was lucky enough to get hold of the PhD thesis by Pat Dudgeon, "Mothers of Sin: Indigenous Women's Perceptions of Their Identity and Gender".

Dr Pat Dudgeon is from Bardi people of the Kimberley in Western Australia. She is a psychologist and is known for her role in Indigenous higher education, particularly as Head of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University. Pat and her family have been exploring the official state government records of her grandmother & great-grandmother who were both Stolen Generations, and this has informed her understanding of the changing gender roles of Aboriginal women. The records also give a clear account of just how much control the government exercised over the lives of Indigenous people at the time.

It was very difficult to get hold of this document (being a thesis, and unpublished), and I'll happily post a review on this site once I get through reading it (it's pretty sizeable!).

[Ruby]

Dee-Ann wrote: "[book:Why warriors lie down & die: Towards an understanding of why the Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land face the greatest crisis in health and education since European contact : djambatj mala|16649..."

Richard Trudgen runs two-day courses in cross-cultural awareness, based on this book, and his experiences. I HIGHLY recommend it for non-Indigenous Australians. In fact, I'd say it's required if you are, like me, a non-Indigenous person working with Indigenous people and programs. While the content is specific to Yolngu people, the lessons it teaches in cross-cultural understanding are invaluable anywhere in the country. Details of the course and the book are here: http://www.ards.com.au/seminars.htm

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Thanks Ruby, hugely interesting stuff you've given us...thanks for sharing. And yes, we'd love your thoughts when you finish the thesis:)

[David]

Hi, I just recently finished Every Secret Thing by Northern Territory indigenous author Marie Munkara. The book is a series of interrelated short stories that expose the impact white missionaries had on traditional Aboriginal life in a remote Northern Territory island community. The book is laced with humour and is an absorbing, confronting and enlightening read - a cleverly written book. My review is here http://tasbooklover.blogspot.com/2011...

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Fantastic review David!