AustLit

Fifteen Australian Aboriginal tales recalling the traditional beliefs and customs of the Guugu Yimidhirr people of Queensland. (Source: TROVE)

'‘Oodnadatta Country – I can still see it, in my mind’s eye, exactly as it was back in my time. The ‘There are so many stories to tell of my life, and sometimes I think they are not of importance, but they are, because often it is the little details that are the most important. I still remember every detail. [Like] Oodnadatta Country – I can still see it, in my mind’s eye, exactly as it was back in my time. The Country still calls me back to where I was born, a very exposed and stony land, but I still love it. That’s where my spirit is.’

'Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee was born at Oodnadatta in remote South Australia in 1932. When her mother tragically died Myra was only eight. Her grieving father gathered up the remaining family and walked north – away from her childhood home. They spent years as nomads, travelling with the camels that were her father’s livelihood, up and down the Finke River. Her father sought work where and when he could, while he looked after his children, teaching them about the bush, their culture and life. It was a childhood of freedom, bush tucker, bush games, fires, stories at night and sleeping under the stars – at times idyllic but, at other times, terrifying and tragic. Myra’s father was a safe and reassuring presence, but when he decided education was the key to his children’s future, Myra’s life was changed forever.

'‘My family pulled all their strengths together from the bush life and from school education. We have shown how it is possible to be successful in life, bringing both sides of our cultures into line.''

Source : publisher's blurb

'Brian Butler's grandmother was taken from her family in 1910. She was 12 years old. Twenty years later her daughter, Brian's mother, was taken.

'Thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, like Brian Butler's, have been coping with the trauma of child removal for more than a century. Sorry and Beyond describes the growth of the grassroots movement that exposed the truth about Australias shameful removal policies and worked towards justice.

'Born in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the movement was joined by nearly a million non-Indigenous Australians in the 1998 Sorry Day Journey of Healing campaigns which paved the way for the Federal Parliaments unanimous apology in 2008.

'Brian Butler and John Bond call on the Australian government and community to take further steps to help complete the journey of healing for Stolen Generations people, bring about real reconciliation and prevent the continuing separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and communities.' (Publication summary)

'In 1957, Ella Simon of Purfleet mission near Taree, New South Wales, applied for and was granted a certificate of exemption. Exemption gave her legal freedoms denied to other Indigenous Australians at that time: she could travel freely, open a bank account, and live and work where she wanted. In the eyes of the law she became a non-Aboriginal, but in return she could not associate with other Aboriginal people even her own family or community.

'It 'stank in my nostrils' - Ella Simon 1978.

'These personal and often painful histories uncovered in archives, family stories and lived experiences reveal new perspectives on exemption. Black, White and Exempt describes the resourcefulness of those who sought exemption to obtain freedom from hardship and oppressive regulation of their lives as Aboriginal Australians. It celebrates their resilience and explores how they negotiated exemption to protect their families and increase opportunities for them. The book also charts exemptees who struggled to advance Aboriginal rights, resist state control and abolish the exemption system.

'Contributions by Lucinda Aberdeen, Katherine Ellinghaus, Ashlen Francisco, Jessica Horton, Karen Hughes, Jennifer Jones, Beth Marsden, John Maynard, Kella Robinson, Leonie Stevens and Judi Wickes.' (Publication summary)

'Umpithamu is a language of the Princess Charlotte Bay region on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula, in northeastern Australia. A Dictionary of Umpithamu, with notes on Middle Paman is the first comprehensive dictionary of a Cape York language to be published in over two decades.

'The dictionary provides detailed information about the grammar, meaning and use of Umpithamu words, generously illustrated with example sentences. All information can also be accessed through an index of English translations, organised alphabetically and thematically. 

'For users with more specific interests, like linguists, anthropologists and biologists, the dictionary further offers phonetic transcriptions, cognates and (Middle) Paman reconstructions for most words, as well as ethnographic notes and identifications of plant and animal species.' (Publication summary)

'The Wangaaypuwan dialect of Ngiyampaa is the language of the Pilaarrkiyalu, Nhiilyikiyalu and Karulkiyalu people that come from the dry, riverless country of Western NSW. Some people still live in and around the ngurrampaa ‘homelands’ but many now live in larger towns and cities around NSW and other states and territories.

'Ngiyampaa Wordworld: Thipingku Yuwi, Maka Ngiya; Names of Birds and Other Words includes stories, example Sentences and songs. The second half of the dictionary is dedicated to bird names (and other words). The dictionary includes an English to Ngiyampaa finder list, which is also useful for looking up words in Ngiyampaa.

'Ngiyampaa Wordworld is part of the AIATSIS Indigenous Language Preservation: Dictionaries Project.' (Publication summary)

'Mudburra is an Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory (Australia). Many Mudburra people live in Elliott, Marlinja, Yarralin and Kalkaringi. The Mudburra to English Dictionary contains Mudburra words with English translations, illustrations and detailed encyclopaedic information about plants, animals and cultural practices. Also included is a guide to Mudburra grammar, an English index and handsigns used by Mudburra people. This volume is ideal for both beginners and advanced speakers of Mudburra, for translators and interpreters, and for anyone interested in learning more about Mudburra language and culture.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Gurgun Mibinyah (belonging to Mibiny speakers) is a dictionary of the northern varieties of the language Yugambeh-Bundjalung, or Bandjalangic, spoken from the Tweed River area of the northeast corner of New South Wales to the Logan River area in the Gold Coast area of southern Queensland. Other dialects of this language exist down to the Clarence River, and west to Allora and Warwick. All varieties of the language, including the Mibinyah varieties, have dropped out of regular use in the area. However, there are rich written records dating from the nineteenth century into the first half of the twentieth century. There are also audio recordings from some areas from the later twentieth century. Speakers, partial speakers and ‘rememberers’ remain, and a few words are commonly used by local English speakers.

'This dictionary covers the area where the original word for an Aboriginal person in the whole language (baygal) has been replaced by mibiny. Gurgun Mibinyah (Language / Words of the Mibiny) contains words found in these varieties of the language with English translations, available examples sentences that illustrate their use, and a section including plants and animals. There is also a guide to the grammar, and an English word index. This volume is ideal for descendants of the original speakers as well as for any others interested in learning more about the traditional language of this area.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ngarinyman is an Aboriginal language of the northern Victoria River District in the Northern Territory (Australia). Many Ngarinyman people live in Yarralin, Bulla Camp, Amanbidji​ (Kildurk) and around Timber Creek.

'The Ngarinyman to English Dictionary contains Ngarinyman words with English translations, illustrations and detailed encyclopaedic information about plants, animals and cultural practices.

'Also included is a guide to Ngarinyman grammar and an English index. This volume is ideal for both beginners and advanced speakers of Ngarinyman, for translators and interpreters, and for anyone interested in learning more about Ngarinyman language and culture.

'The Ngarinyman to English Dictionary is a part of the AIATSIS​ Indigenous Language Preservation: Dictionaries Project. This project is a response to the alarming rates of language loss in Australia, and aims to support the publication of Indigenous languages dictionaries.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Sydney Language was written to revive interest the Aboriginal language of the Sydney district. It makes readily available the small amount of surviving information from historical records.

'Author, Professor Jakelin Troy refers to the language as the ‘Sydney Language’ because there was no name given for the language in these historical records until late in the nineteenth century when it was referred to as Dharug.

'The language is now called by its many clan names, including Gadigal in the Sydney city area and Dharug in Western Sydney. The word for Aboriginal person in this language is ‘yura’, this word been used to help identify the language, with the most common spellings being Iyora and Eora.

'The Sydney Language is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about the language and culture of the Aboriginal owners of what is now called Sydney.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Through the struggles of Indigenous Australians for recognition and self-determination it has become common sense to understand Australia as made up of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and things. But in what ways is the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction being used and understood? In The Difference Identity Makes, thirteen Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics examine how this distinction structures the work of cultural production and how Indigenous producers and their works are recognised and valued.

'The editors introduce this innovative collection of essays with a path-finding argument that ‘Indigenous cultural capital’ now challenges all Australians to re-position themselves within a revised scale of values. Each chapter looks at one of five fields of Australian cultural production: sport, television, heritage, visual arts and music, revealing that in each the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction has effects that are specific.

'This brings new depth and richness to our understanding of what ‘Indigeneity’ can mean in contemporary Australia. In demonstrating the variety of ways that ’the Indigenous’ is made visible and valued the essays provide a powerful alternative to the ‘deficit’ theme that has continued to haunt the representation of Indigeneity.' (Publication summary)

'While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been largely ignored or marginalised in national histories of war and service, they have remembered their involvement in Defence service and the service of their relatives.

'Our Mob Served presents a moving and little-known history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander war time and defence service, told through the vivid oral histories and treasured family images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

'This unique book shares lively and compelling stories of war, defence service and the impact on individuals, families and communities, sometimes for the first time.' (Publication summary)

'This collection traces the legacy of Richard Broome’s pathbreaking work in Aboriginal history by presenting innovative work that assesses and transforms a broad range of important debates that have captured both scholarly and popular attention in recent years.

'The book brings together a range of prominent and emerging scholars who have been exploring the contours of the field to make notable contributions to histories of frontier violence and missions, Aboriginal participation in sport and education, ways of framing relationships with land, and the critical relevance of Aboriginal life history and memoir to re-considering Australian history.

'Readers will be interested in the novel arguments on Indigenous networks and mobilities, of memoirs and histories, frontier violence, massacres, and the History Wars, as well as Noel Pearson and issues of paternalism in Aboriginal politics.' (Publication summary)

'Evonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman, Nova Peris, Lionel Rose, Artie Beetson, Polly Farmer are just a few of our Australian sporting heroes who, since the mid-1880s, have helped shape Australia's identity as a great sporting nation. They, along with 269 other sporting greats, are showcased here in this third edition of the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame. 

'Spanning thirty six sports across a period of 150 years, Black Pearls presents some of our Olympic heroes, superb sportswomen, football giants, boxing legends, lightning sprinters and more - from darts champions to world class weightlifters and woodchoppers. 

'Black Pearls is, however, more than a sports book. It reveals a history of inclusion and exclusion, about Aboriginal determination in the face of enormous obstacles, and resilience in overcoming remoteness, discriminatory laws, incarceration on isolated reserves, and opponents in a variety of sports arenas.' (Publication summary)

'Against Native Title is about one group's lived experience of a divisive native title claim in the outback town of Ceduna, where the native title claims process has thoroughly reorganised local Aboriginal identities over the course of the past decade.

'The central character in this story is senior Aboriginal woman Sue Haseldine, a self-styled charismatic rebel and master storyteller. Sue's extended family has experienced native title as an unwelcome imposition: something that has emanated from the state and out of which they gained only enemies. They rail against the logic of native title and oppose the extensive mineral exploration underway in their country.

'But this is not simply a tale of conflict. Threaded throughout is the story of a twice-yearly event called 'rockhole recovery'; trips that involve numerous days of four-wheel drive travel to a series of permanent water sources and Dreaming sites. Against Native Title captures the energy that fuels this unique, small-scale initiative. Rockhole recovery expresses the ways in which Sue Haseldine and her family continue to care for, and maintain connections to, Country - outside of the native title process.

'Against Native Title pursues a controversial and much neglected line of enquiry: the native title process is not necessarily a force for good. This is a vivacious and very human story, which makes a vital contribution to national debates around issues of Aboriginal futures in remote and regional areas. ' (Publication summary)

'The emu is an iconic Australian bird of significance to all Australians, but especially so to Indigenous Australians who have had a special relationship with this curious animal for thousands of years. In this bilingual, highly illustrated, full-colour publication Something about emus reveals valuable ecological knowledge in a collection of essays by senior members of the Bininj Gunwok language group from Kakadu National Park and Western Arnhem Land. Something about emus goes beyond biology and ecology to encompass other culturally important domains such as the visual and verbal arts, music, ritual and the relationships between humans and animals. Whilst Indigenous ecological knowledge is increasingly acknowledged as a valuable part of Australia’s cultural heritage, such knowledge is most richly expressed in Australia’s Indigenous languages which have largely remained inaccessible to those outside their communities.' (Publication summary)