Culture & History Books by First Nations Voices

Shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal 2019

'A gentle whisper from the past
Visits me in my dreams
Or is it the future that I see ... '

From well-known poets John Kinsella and Charmaine Papertalk-Green comes a tête-à-tête that is powerful, thought provoking, and challenges what we think we know about our country, colonisation, and how we understand our land. Striking conversations surrounding childhood, life, love, mining, death, respect, and diversity; imbued by silken Yamatji sensibility and sublimely responded to by the son of a foreman from South Champion Mine.

This extraordinary publication weaves two differing points of view together as Papertalk-Green and Kinsella's words traverse this land and reflect back to us all, our many identities and quiet voices.

Great-Grandpa Liman lives in a small house by the sea. There are no lights — just stars as far as the eye can see.

Brother Moon is a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson. Beneath the dark sky of the Northern Territory, Hippy-Boy is captivated when Great-Grandpa Liman tells him the mysterious story of his brother and how it guides his connection to Country.

Great-Grandpa is a masterful storyteller and, as the tale unfolds, he finally reveals his brother is the moon — a wonder of the universe. Hippy-Boy learns how his greatgrandfather uses the phases of the moon when he goes hunting and fishing, and why it is important for us all to have an understanding of the natural world.

Liman (Harry Morgan), the author's grandfather, was a respected Wadjigany man — a leader amongst his people and the community. Liman was born at Manjimamany in the Northern Territory in 1916. He was a canoe maker, hunter, community mediator, and a family man who lived off the land and travelled the seas. Liman spoke Batjamalh, his first language, and other languages from the Daly River area.

Teachers' notes available here

An exemplar of Indigenous Studies writing, epistemologically, theoretically and methodologically A collection of writings on women and Aboriginal identity from 14 senior Indigenous academics and community leaders. The collection engages with questions such as: What makes Aboriginal women strong? Why are grandmothers so important (even ones never met)? How is the connection to country different for Aboriginal people compared to non-Aboriginal people's love of nature or sense of belonging to an area? What is Aboriginal spirituality? These writings are generous, inclusive and considerate of the non-Aboriginal reader's feelings. They are hopeful for the future, with an emphasis on acknowledging, joining with, collaborating and caring.

For perhaps the first time in novel form, Benevolence presents an important era in Australia's history from an Aboriginal perspective. Benevolence is told from the perspective of Darug woman, Muraging (Mary James), born around 1813. Mary's was one of the earliest Darug generations to experience the impact of British colonisation. At an early age Muraging is given over to the Parramatta Native School by her Darug father. From here she embarks on a journey of discovery and a search for a safe place to make her home.

The novel spans the years 1816-35 and is set around the Hawkesbury River area, the home of the Darug people, Parramatta and Sydney. The author interweaves historical events and characters — she shatters stereotypes and puts a human face to this Aboriginal perspective.

*Longlisted for the 2021 ABIAs: Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year*

You are on Indigenous lands,
swimming in Indigenous waters,
looking up at Indigenous skies. 

Living on Stolen Land is a prose-styled look at our colonial-settler 'present'. This book is the first of its kind to address and educate a broad audience about the colonial contextual history of Australia, in a highly original way. It pulls apart the myths at the heart of our nationhood, and challenges Australia to come to terms with its own past and its place within and on 'Indigenous Countries'. 

This title speaks to many First Nations' truths — stolen lands, sovereignties, time, decolonisation, First Nations perspectives, systemic bias and other constructs that inform our present discussions and ever-expanding understanding. This title is a timely, thought-provoking and accessible read.

*Shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2020: Children's Literature*

*Shortlisted for the SPN Book of the Year Award 2020*

*Longlisted for the CBCA 2020 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books*

*Longlisted for the 2020 ABIA Small Publishers' Children's Book of the Year*

Age range 5 to 12

'Warami mittigar. Hello friend. 
We welcome you to Darug Country.'

Cooee Mittigar, meaning Come Here Friend, is an invitation to yana (walk), on Darug Country.  In this stunning picture book, Darug creators Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson tell a story on Darug Songlines, introducing children and adults-alike to Darug Nura (Country) and language.

Greeted by Mulgo, the black swan, readers are welcomed to Nura. Journeying through the seasons, Mulgo describes the land, skyscape, birds, animals and totems. It is a gentle guide to how Darug people read the seasons, knowing when it is time to hunt and time to rest. It is also an appeal to remember, off ering new ways of seeing and reading the lands of the surrounding Sydney region.   

With Darug language interspersed with English and an extensive glossary throughout, Cooee Mittigar presents an important tool for learning, told as a tender story with exquisite illustrations. It is Jasmine and Leanne's wish that with this book, everyone will know that the Darug mob are still here and still strong. 

Cooee mittigar. Tread softly on our lands.
Know that this dreaming was here. Is still here.
Will be forever.

Teachers' Notes available here

*Longlisted for the 2021 Indie Book Awards: Children's*

*Longlisted for the 2021 ABIAs: Children's Picture Book of the Year*

*A 2021 CBCA Notable Book: Early Childhood*

Age range 3 to 9

Our Way is old.
Older than the red earth.
Older than flickering stars.
Our way is respect.

A tender, thoughtful story reminding us to respect others and respect ourselves. Part of the Our Place series which welcomes children to culture. 

'Dream team Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, who previously brought us the excellent Nganga: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words and phrases, have collaborated with artist Lisa Kennedy to deliver this absolutely exquisite picture book.  In Respect, the first book in Magabala's Our Place series — the aim of which is to welcome children to Aboriginal culture — Muir and Lawson's sparse text is offset by Kennedy's luminous images, which come alive on the page.' — Hannah Gardiner, Books+Publishing

Teachers' notes available here

This stunning book is a biography and a generous sharing of Yorna's Culture and traditional beliefs. Explore the meaning of Country, Lalai ('Creation'), Wandjina, Woongudd (the 'Snake'), in the author's Country in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. 

Full of extraordinary images of the landscape, rock art, stone arrangements and the artist's paintings, Yornadaiyn Woolagoodja is a feast for anyone interested in this rich Cultural heritage. Special feature boxes on Joonba ('Corroborree'), Native Title, Permisson and Respect, Sugarbag, Ancestors' Bones, Collecting Turtle and many more. 

*Shortlisted for the 2022 Stella Prize*

*Shortlisted for the 2021 Queensland Literary Awards: Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection*

Our grandmothers' stories teach us about Aboriginal women's ways of being in our many worlds. Some of the stories in this collection are held in spoken histories, others in archival material, recontextualised with living katitjin. Some are held in my imagination. They are fragments of the many stars in my grandmothers' constellations. I track my grandmothers' stars to find my bidi home.

Homecoming pieces together fragments of stories about four generations of Noongar women and explores how they navigated the changing landscapes of colonisation, protectionism, and assimilation to hold their families together.

This seminal collection of poetry, prose and historical colonial archives, tells First Nations truths of unending love for children — those that were present, those taken, those hidden and those that ultimately stood in the light.

Homecoming speaks to the intergenerational dialogue about Country, kin and culture. This elegant and extraordinary form of restorative story work amplifies Aboriginal women's voices, and enables four generations of women to speak for themselves. This sublime debut highlights the tenacity of family as well as First Nation's agency to resist, survive and renew.

Age range 5 to 9

Maadjit Walken is the Sacred Rainbow Serpent. She is the mother spirit and creator of Nyoongar Country in the south-west of Western Australia. She formed the landscape and the waterways, and made her first child Maadjit Wagarl, the Sacred Water Snake, the guardian spirit of all the rivers and fresh waters. The Mark of the Wagarl is the story of a how a little boy dared to questioned the wisdom of his elders and why he received the Sacred Water Snake for his totem. Janice Lyndon's pastel illustrations resonate with the cultural power of the Maadjit Wagarl and the landscape of the south-west.

Ardiyooloon is home to the Bardi-Jaawi people and sits at the end of a red dirt road at the top of the Dampier Peninsula, 200km north of Broome in the north-west of Western Australia. Our World: Bardi-Jaawi life at Ardiyooloon takes readers inside the lives of the children of a remote Indigenous community - lives very different to those experienced by most Australians. The children take readers camping and fishing, share traditional stories and dances, show them how to find a waterhole, track, cook and eat bush tucker and animals such as turtles, crabs, oysters and clams, and make spears, boomerangs, bough shelters and bush brooms. Created by the children themselves, it is full of colourful illustrations and amazing photographs of the students experiencing their world and keeping alive the age-old traditions of their people. Our World chosen by the CBCA Book of the Year Judges as an HONOUR BOOK CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR: EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS Voted the inaugural Best Book for Language & Literacy Development - Indigenous Children (8 - 12 years) in the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards 2011

In this montage of memoir, art, silk paintings, and photographs, Sally Bin Demin remembers her childhood growing up in Broome during the 1940s and 50s. As one of the 'after the war kids', Sally's lifestyle was embedded in the many cultural traditions of the people who lived in the old pearling town. She had the world at her doorstep.

Age range 9 — 12

Gradually, Yinti and Wara grew accustomed to station life. They no longer ran and hid when they saw a motorcar coming along the road towards them.

The third book in the Yinti series of three books.

Desert Cowboy is the story of Yinti's return to the cattle station and of his life as a stockman. Over these years Yinti experiences joy, excitement, loss and tragedy, but never loses his sense of fun and inclination to mischief. All of the stories are based on actual people and events as told to Pat Lowe by Jimmy Pike and other members of his family.

Age range 9 - 12

The second book in the Yinti series.

Yinti and the hunting dingo, Spinifex, walk out of the desert together and Yinti sees a white man for the first time: 'Look at that kartiya,' whispered Yinti, giggling. 'You can see the blood through his skin!'

When the dingo, Spinifex, is taken  from her mother, she expects to be killed. Instead she is adopted and becomes a prized hunting dog. She eventually accompanies her human family, including Yinti, on their journey through the Great Sandy Desert. When Yinti leaves the desert, Spinifex goes with him.

Based on stories, told to Pat Lowe by Jimmy Pike, about a dog who lived with his family in the desert during the 1940s and early 1950s

The 1960s are remembered as a time of change and upheaval throughout the Western world, including Australia. No part of the country changed more in that decade than the remote pastoral regions of the north. But in these tropical parts the winds of change did not bring the anti-war movement, the counterculture, feminism, or the other issues that preoccupied the cities. Rather, they blew down an industry, a regime, a culture that for the best part of a century had thrived on a semi-feudal system of co-dependence between the all-powerful station bosses, and large communities of unpaid Aboriginal workers and their families. 

In the course of a couple of years the township of Fitzroy Crossing in the remote Kimberley changed from a tiny frontier outpost, to a refugee camp with hundreds of people living in fringe camps in third world conditions. From this maelstrom a unique community emerged, with a strong ethos of cooperation and support amongst the various peoples of the Fitzroy Valley.

Ngarta and Jukuna lived in the Great Sandy Desert. They traversed country according to the seasons, just as the Walmajarri people had done for thousands of years. But it was a time of change. Desert people who had lived with little knowledge of European settlement were now moving onto cattle stations. Those left behind were vulnerable and faced unimaginable challenges.

In 1961, when Jukuna leaves with her new husband, young Ngarta remains with a group of women and children. Tragedy strikes and Ngarta is forced to travel alone. Her survival depends on cunning and courage as she is pursued by two murderers in a vast unforgiving landscape.

Jukuna's rich account may be the first autobiography written in an Aboriginal language. Presented in English and Walmajarri, her determination to see her language written has made her one of our most valued authors.

*A 2021 CBCA Notable Book: Eve Pownall Award for information books*

Age range 0 to 9

I am Shirley Purdie
This is my story
Ngayin-ga Birrmarriyan-nga
Berrembi jarragbe ngaginybe. 

My mother shows me how to get bushtucker and she shows me how to paint.
Now I'm a famous artist. 
My paintings are all over the world hanging in important places. Happy times. 

Told in English and Gija, this is the story of Shirley Purdie, famous Gija artist, as told through her paintings, as part of the Ngaalim-Ngalimboorro Ngagenybe exhibition created for the 2018 National Portrait Gallery exhibition So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history. The exhibition will be rehung, in Gallery 1, to coincide with the launch of My Story, along with a series of cultural engagement activities based on My Story. 

This is the first book in the Kimberley Art Centre Series. The series focuses on developing the skills of Kimberley Aboriginal artists in children's picture book storytelling and illustration. 

'I stood at the school gates with nothing but the clothes on my back. I had no money, no family, no home — nothing to show for the past 16 years except my cheap cardboard suitcase and a reasonable grasp of reading, writing and arithmetic … I didn't know what I was going to do next, but I knew that whatever it would be, it would be on my own terms.' — Prologue, Two Cultures, One Story

Dr Robert Francis Isaacs AM, OAM, PhD (Hon) has spent his life bridging the divide between white and black Australia. Taken from his mother as a baby, Robert was raised in institutions not knowing he had a family and not knowing he was Aboriginal.

Enduring severe hardship, discipline and abuse at the hands of the Christian Brothers, Robert went out into the world at the age of 16 determined to make a life for himself and a family of his own.

A chance encounter with a member of his extended family would help shape the rest of his life. Determined to both embrace his culture and build on his faith and education, Robert immersed himself in the world of Aboriginal health and housing, proving to be a straight-talking, deft political negotiator who can achieve real outcomes for Aboriginal people. Over the decades, Robert brings his considerable interpersonal skills to bear in the areas of alcohol and drug abuse, employment, relations with the police, the justice system and education.

Told with grace and strength, this memoir shares the inside story of a respected Elder and his drive to break down cultural barriers and improve the lives of his people.

'I listened to my family’s narratives and my ancestors began to emerge in an almost life-like way.' — Cindy Solonec

This extraordinary and heartfelt story chronicles the lives of the Rodriguez family of Debesa Station in the West Kimberley; their livelihood through difficult times, love of family, place and culture, and the challenges of day-to-day living on a small sheep station amid huge pastoral properties.

Spanning four generations from the 1880s when the author’s maternal great-grandfather, Indian deckhand, Jimmy Casim, met and lived with Nigena woman, Lucy Muninga on Yeeda Station near Derby, Debesa centres on the unlikely partnership of Cindy’s parents: Frank Rodriguez, once a Benedictine novice monk from Spain, and Katie Fraser, who had been a novitiate in a very different sort of abbey – a convent for ‘black’ women at Beagle Bay Mission, 130 kilometres north of Broome.

Together, Frank and Katie Rodriguez established Debesa, where Cindy and her three siblings grew up with the rich cultural heritage of their Spanish, Nigena and English ancestors.

Debesa is a sweeping social history of one family’s struggles and triumphs set against the backdrop of the beauty of the West Kimberley.

Age range 9 - 12

The first book in the Yinti series of three books. 

The stories are linked in a sequence that shows Yinti's development from a young bushie to a competent station worker and adult. Yinti is a traditional Walmajarri Aboriginal boy growing up Great Sandy Desert in the remote North West of Australia — one of the most marginal environments on earth. This is the story of Yinti's coming of age. He has no contact with white people until the last chapter of the book when he meets his first white man, first horse and first bullock. The stories are based on people and events as told to Pat Lowe by Jimmy Pike.

A revamped Magabala classic by Miles Franklin award‑winning author Alexis Wright.

First published in 1997, this vivid portrayal of how the Indigenous people of Tennant Creek worked together to achieve community-wide alcohol restrictions, is more relevant now than ever. A searing account of what transpired over 25 years ago, Grog War provides historical context and Indigenous-led solutions to the challenges still confronting communities and towns throughout Australia.

In the '90s, Wright was commissioned by the Julalikari Council of Tennant Creek to write Grog War, to document how Aboriginal Elders and leaders dealt with the invasion of grog on Warumungu land and the enormous struggle it took to introduce simple alcohol restrictions in the town. Grog War traces an Indigenous-led movement of self-determination that shifted the blame from Aboriginal people for public drunkenness to looking at the way grog is pushed and sold, in turn challenging the town and government to share responsibility.

Aboriginal Elders and community advisors in Tennant Creek fought for years to put alcohol restrictions in place and they are still fighting. Their courage and tenacity is an inspiration for other towns in Australia who are battling against the tide of alcohol abuse and resistance from licencees and the broader community.

Grog War is essential reading for all those working towards and interested in Indigenous self-determination, for community leaders, legislators, health workers, social workers — and for our young people — so that all Australian children might grow up with a better understanding of what Indigenous people have fought hard to achieve in this country.

Dark Emu in the Classroom: Teacher Resources for High School Geography is a rich resource for teachers to use in the Geography classroom. Based on the concepts in Bruce Pascoe's highly acclaimed book Dark Emu, this resource presents lesson content for the topics:

• Biomes and Food Security (Vic Year 9)/Sustainable Biomes (NSW Stage 5)
  
• Environmental Change and Management (Vic. Year 10/NSW Stage 5) This innovative resource offers both new and experienced teachers a supportive and fresh approach to teaching geography through its well-organised lesson structure and high-interest, inquiry-based activities for students.

Born Ellie Nellie on an Aboriginal reserve in Western Australia's south west, she was nicknamed Ing by her family. Removed from her loving parents under government policy at the age of five, Ing was placed in a mission and denied her heritage. Her name was changed to Helen, and she needed all her strength to survive. When Ing's parents died, she had the responsibility of her younger brother and sister. Returning to her community on a nearby reserve when the mission closed, Ing learnt what it meant to be Noongar after being brought up as a whitefella. Her family taught her culture and language. Ing has lived through many family tragedies. Her honest experiences reflect her indomitable spirit and give insight into the lives of Aboriginal people.

' This is my knowledge. It has been handed down to me from my grandmothers and grandfathers, my mothers and my fathers. I am sharing it with you because I want people to know about my life.'

Ninu Grandmothers' Law is a definitive account of a traditional lifestyle and way of thinking. Accompanied by exceptional archival photographs, it is an evocative, compelling chronicle and cultural philosophy of a time almost forgotten. Part biography, part customs manual and food guide, part traditional social history and women's customs and governance,  Ninu Grandmothers' Law is a rare testament to one woman's advocacy for her family, people and culture.

Noel Tovey's previous memoir, Little Black Bastard ( Hodder Headline Australia 2004, shortlisted Victorian Premier's Prize for Indigenous Writing, Australian Human Rights Award) chronicled his extraordinary life - from a childhood lived in poverty, through to his international stage career, return to Australia and eventual reconciliation with his past. In this uplifting new work, Tovey crafts a tale that reveals a creative and sensitive spirit. And Then I Found Me is the triumphant story of his stellar career in London as an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, director and curator. For more than 30 years, his stage productions reached audiences across Europe, South Africa and Australia. Martin Luther King's assassination, the dismantling of apartheid, the criminalisation of homosexuality and the rise of AIDS create a backdrop to this bold recollection of glamour and politics. As a trailblazer for Indigenous people and an advocate for underpriviledged artists, Tovey's new memoir is both moving and timely.

A tiny outpost of colonial administration is planted on the desolate mudflats of King Sound, at Derby. Leases are marked on a map covering huge areas, and the push into the north begins. Vast herds of cattle and sheep move across the land and with it, a new future. In the remote Kimberley, in the late nineteenth century, on the ancient lands of the Bunuba, the last stages of an invasion are about to be played out. Amidst the ensuing chaos and turmoil, extraordinary relationships grow. The thrilling story of the great warrior, Jandamarra, who turned from police assistant to resistance fighter. Thought to be unstoppable, he led the Bunuba against the forces invading their land. A legend, forever etched into the history of the Kimberley, Jandamarra's courage and fighting spirit made him one of the region's most wanted men. Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance is a grand story with a grand theme. A powerful collaboration between a non-Indigenous historian and the Indigenous custodian of the Jandamarra story.

Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka, (Forever, we sing), is a celebration of rare Noongar language, and the things we share as community. Over many years, Noongar language has been reduced to a whisper, there are currently less than 400 fluent speakers.

The collection of songs in this book represent the first two albums Gina and Guy have released — Kalyakoorl (Forever) and Bindi Bindi (The Butterfly). And just like their music, this anthology is informed by the four principles of Koort (Heart), Moort (Family and Community), Boodja (Land) and Koorlangka (Children and Legacy).

It is their hope that, through this collection of reduced scores and song sheets, Gina and Guy’s music will continue to be seen in new and interesting ways, and shared through schools, choirs and community groups.

A huge snake takes refuge under the body of a napping grandfather. A sixteen year old girl keeps three hundred head of cattle together for a couple of weeks without loosing a beast. A young Aboriginal boy witnesses a man being thrown off a train onto a remote railway siding for being Jewish. Two trackers lead a police party deep into the desert to apprehend a murderer and rescue a young, abducted woman. From station life to dusty outback towns, Clarrie Cameron recreates the campfire yarns of his past on the page by deftly weaving together anecdote, wit and allegory. He captures the peculiarities and contradictions of human nature which readers all over the world will instantly recognise.

Nine Kimberley Aboriginal stockmen tell their stories - and each one reflects the hard slog of their lives, particularly the tough and often abusive living and working conditions. These men worked seven days a week, all year round for payment of tobacco, flour, tea, blankets and, sometimes, clothing. Held in high esteem, the four men who remain are Senior Elders, cultural advisors and lawmen who contribute to the welfare of their people and communities. The men in Raparapa are resourceful, resilient, flexible, strong and intelligent. They worked hard to better the lives of future generations of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. Their foresight and determination helped Indigenous people buy back vast tracts of land on which they now live, with their families, running their own cattle stations. There is an underlying sense of pride in the work these men undertook. Their work ethic is matched only by their love of the Kimberley countryside and the mighty Fitzroy River flowing through it.

The first draft of this book was written under a tree on the slope of a sandhill where for several years, Englishwoman Pat Lowe shared a desert camp with her lifetime partner, Walmajarri man Jimmy Pike. While spending time in the red heart of the country that had been home to the Walmajarri people for thousands of years, they recorded Pike's stories through his painting and Lowe's writing. You Call it Desert - We Used to Live There is a new edition of Jilji - Life in the Great Sandy Desert. With Jimmy Pike as her teacher, Pat Lowe explored the day-to-day lives of the desert dwellers. Through her unique understanding of their use of the land, its features and materials, Lowe writes about the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the desert people.

The heartwarming story of musician, storyteller and craftsman Ronnie Summers. He hasn't had it easy, but in the lines of his face and the twinkle in his eye lies the spirit of a proud Tasmanian Aboriginal elder. Today, he is at the forefront of the Tasmanian cultural renaissance. He is a survivor in every sense of the word.

Out of the Desert is a compelling collection of stories, art and photographs from the Walmajarri people of the Great Sandy Desert, in north western Australia. It tells of their remarkable exodus from remote desert country to an unfamiliar modern society. Within only one generation the Walmajarri desert dwellers left their traditional places behind to face station life and a world far beyond the sandhills. These accounts of a recent past reveal the challenges of the epic journey north to station country, the courage of the Walmajarri in confronting the unknown, and their first contact with white people.

This is the autobiography of Ambrose Mungala Chalarimeri, a Kwini man from the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia. Ambrose speaks out honestly, without malice or accusation, on a number of subjects including the appropriation of rock art, the proposed damming of the Fitzroy River, the impact of tourism on the Kimberley, the exploitation of Aboriginal people, native title and land rights. His life story is a fascinating account of a people and region that have experienced upheaval and change on a monumental scale.