AustLit

'Dr Charles Duguid OBE campaigned for Aboriginal rights from the late 1920s to the 1980s. Mrs Phyllis Duguid OAM joined him in that campaign from 1930. The lectures which carry their name, delivered by distinguished Indigenous academics and community leaders, extend their work and kink it to ever-broadening fields of local, national and international Indigenous affairs - especially in matters of health, education, governance, cultural affirmation and human rights. Taken together, the lectures mark intergenerational shifts in thinking, language and positioning to form a crossover record of lives dedicated to struggle and the power of intelligent advocacy.' (Introduction)

'This collection celebrates the contribution to public intellectual life - in South Australia and beyond - of eleven respected Indigenous educators, community leaders and activists: the Duguid lecturers.

'Their work, in turn, honours the dedication of Dr Charles and Phyllis Duguid in advancing the cultural, social and political interests of Indigenous Australians from the 1930s to the 1990s.

'The Duguid Memorial Lectures, 1994–2014, offer telling insights into the endeavours of individuals, communities and movements dedicated to improving Indigenous education, health, cultural practice and community governance. They prepare the ground and point the way for generations of leaders to come.

'The Duguids and the Duguid lecturers are partners in the long, continuing campaign for a reconciled Australia.' (Publication summary)

'Twenty-five years after Elliott Johnston’s thorough and prescient Report on the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, juvenile justice, freedom of speech, racial discrimination, human rights and a referendum on constitutional ‘recognition’ of Indigenous Australians remain subjects of contestation, national debate and international scrutiny.'

'In this collection, 17 distinguished Indigenous and non-Indigenous jurists, scholars and community leaders show common cause with Johnston. They pursue better ways of understanding social values, justice and equality expressed through issues of native title, incarceration rates, cultural protection, self-determination and rights of Indigenous peoples. They look to the law as a site of hope and an instrument of public education and principled change.' (Source: The Federation Press website)

This collection of essays has been produced for teachers, students, researchers, and readers in order to highlight AustLit’s BlackWords project, the most comprehensive resource of Indigenous Australian writing available. The essays aim to assist readers to better understand the impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing and publishing on Australia’s literary landscape.

The essays showcase recent trends in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing and highlight the diversity of voices, the range of themes, the genres authors are publishing in, and the ongoing importance of storytelling in contemporary Indigenous society. Common themes emerge in the concerns of Indigenous writers: identity; connection to country; urban life; language maintenance and reclamation. While Indigenous authored books to assist with literacy at a community level is a growing aspect of publishing.

Terminology

A range of terminology has been used in these essays in order to define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and storytellers who make up the BlackWords dataset. In each case, the chosen term reflects the context of the work being considered. The term ‘First Peoples’ and ‘First Nations’ will mean Aboriginal only, while Indigenous and Black are inclusive of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Acknowledgements

The author, Dr Anita Heiss, would like to thank Emeritus Professor Gus Worby, Flinders University and Yunggorendi First Nations Centre, for his professional support and good will in undertaking a scholarly edit of these essays; and to Kerry Kilner for textual editing and for recognising the importance of having them as part of the AustLit database.

Dr Heiss would also like to acknowledge the support of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council who granted her a literature fellowship to research and write these essays, and thereby making them freely available to visitors to BlackWords. AustLit maintains BlackWords through the support of The University of Queensland and the generosity of our subscribers.