As Heiss says in her introduction, there ‘is no single way to define what it means to grow up Aboriginal in Australia’.Įach entry is enhanced by a black-and-white photograph of the writer at the beginning of their entry – photographs of them as children, emphasising the book’s focus on childhood and growing up. This miscellany highlights for the reader the diversity of Indigenous groups in Australia, something that is still sometimes overlooked. There are people from all walks of life, from the country and the city and from older people to the young. Importantly, as is stated in the introduction ‘each account reveals, to some degree, the impacts of invasion and colonisation on language, on country, on ways of life, on how people are treated daily in the community, the education system, the workplace and in friendship groups’.Īlthough the names of many of the contributors may be unfamiliar others are well-known and their stories are all compelling. Heiss comments that she had many more contributions than she could include in the book. In this work, she has brought together 52 Indigenous people from all round the country to write about their experience of growing up in Australia as an Aboriginal. “….it’s so obvious that underneath the invisible barriers and expectations we have constructed and placed on each other, we are all brothers and sisters we are all just pink flesh and bone.”Īn informative, thought-provoking, and moving anthology Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia is essential reading in the journey to create a new dialogue with and about Aboriginal Australians.Wiradjuri woman Anita Heiss, is a poet, editor, author and social commentator who champions Indigenous writing and literacy. They are a generous invitation to learn and gain some understanding of what it is like to be a First Nations person growing up in Australia, both then and now. Though the quality of the writing can be uneven, the honesty of the authors stories are affecting and powerful. Yet there are commonalities in their stories -the weight of intergenerational trauma, the burden of stereotypes and racism, the struggle with identity, the desire to understand and embrace their culture, kin and country. They come from all over country, and are of varied ages, genders, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic class. I have such a mix of emotions – I am angered, ashamed, sad, enlightened, inspired and hopeful.įifty contributors share their diverse experiences of growing up Aboriginal in Australia. I’m having such a hard time putting together a response to reading Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia. “ There is no single or simple way to define what it means to grow up Aboriginal in Australia….” Title: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
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