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The BlackWords Book Club

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  • Register here

    for the UQ Stories for Reconciliation Meeting #8

    Terri Janke's Butterfly Song

  • Butterfly Song by Terri Janke

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    Join renowned author, Anita Heiss, and Wuthathi and Meriam woman, Terri Janke, to discuss the motivation, experience, and continuing relevance of her 2005 novel, Butterfly Song.

    Terri is an internationally recognised authority on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), known for innovating pathways between the law and the cultural rights of Indigenous peoples and communities. As the owner and Solicitor Director of Terri Janke and Company, a Sydney based law firm, she is dedicated to empowering Indigenous peoples to assert their ICIP rights and prosper in their business and creative endeavours.

    Terri is an influential advocate for positive collaborations and engagement, having written leading ICIP protocols for various sectors including the arts, museums, archives, film and business. Some of her landmark publications include Our Culture: Our Future (1998), IP Australia’s Indigenous Knowledge: Issues for protection and management (2018) and First Peoples: a roadmap for enhancing Indigenous engagement in museums and galleries (2019). She is also a creative writer known for her novel Butterfly Song (2005) and has contributed short stories and poetry to various publications, including Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (2018). Terri is the recipient of awards such as the NAIDOC Person of the Year (2011), the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year (2012) and the Aboriginal Justice Award – Highly Commended (2007).

  • Explore AustLit Records for Terri Janke and Butterfly Song

    image of person or book cover
    Image courtesy of publisher's website.

    Tarena Shaw has just finished her Law degree but isn't sure if she wants to be a lawyer after all. What place does a black lawyer have in a white system? Does everyone in Sydney feel like a turtle without a shell? Drawn to Thursday Island, the home of her grandparents, Tarena is persuaded by her family to take on her first case. Part of the evidence is a man with a guitar and a very special song... Butterfly Song moves from the pearling days in the Torres Strait to the ebb and flow of big city life, with a warm and funny modern heroine whose story reaches across cultures.

    (...more)
    See full AustLit entry

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