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Recommended Reading ListStories of Aboriginal Connection by Residents of Boroondara
ANTaR Boroondara has researched and compiled a booklet entitled 'Boroondara Connections'. It is based on interviews conducted with past and present residents of the City of Boroondara. The stories and memories presented honour and celebrate the acheivements fo prominent members of the Aboriginal community who at some stage in their lives were associated with the munincipality. Many, like Harold Blair and Bill Onus, are well known, but the stories of less public identities are no less inspirational.
The volume features stories of not only Aboriginal people who have been associated witht the area, but the oral history project also includes interviews with non-Indigenous residents of Boroondara who have been involved in a significant way with the Indigenous community and who have wonderful stories to relate.
Through these stories the broader narrative of the Aboriginal community emerges - the traditional way of life of the Wurundjeri people, the effects of dispossession, the mission experience, lives of Stolen Generations, the work of activists, the creativity of Aboriginal artists and most importantly the strength and courage of ordinary mothers and fathers to protect family and help their community in the face of considerable challenges. The invaluable contributions of non-Indigenous people to promote reconciliation, and Indigenous social and educational opportunity are also highlighted. (David Crawford, ANTaR Boroondara).
You can order your copy of 'Boroondara Connections' for $10 (b&w version) by contacting ANTaR Boorondara (email), or, you can download it here. New Book Critiques the Formal Reconciliation ProcessJill Webb, Chair, ANTaR Victoria, reviews this recently released book by Dr Andrew Gunstone, Head of the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash University.
Secondly, there was ongoing confusion about the very meaning of
the word reconciliation, coupled with an acrimonious and confusing
debate about the comparative importance of practical versus symbolic
reconciliation. While this debate raged, indigenous people continued
to call for what could be called substantive reconciliation, Indigenous
rights and addressing
The impact of nationalism with its focus on a single national identity also worked to keep the core rights issues off the agenda. The nationalist framework failed to recognise that historical factors such as invasion, massacres, the taking of land, removing children- have continuing repercussions today highlighting differences and potential ongoing conflict between Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. A nationalist discourse emphasises unity rather than difference, so again the issues of sovereignty, land justice and self determination, issues that demand acknowledgement of difference, could not be accommodated.
The decade of reconciliation in effect soothed the non indigenous community into thinking that reconciliation could be achieved by focussing on improving relationships between Indigenous and non-indigenous people, without addressing the wrongs of the past, the ongoing injustice, recognising Indigenous rights and working for justice.
This book encourages us to think about the meaning of “reconciliation”, and reminds us of the substantive core issues of Indigenous justice that were at the heart of the original goals of the reconciliation process. Land justice, sovereignty, treaty, and self determination. They are as important, if not more important, today than they were in the late 1980s.
Buy the book for $29 from ANTaR Victoria (normally $39.95)
A select non-fiction reading list:compiled November 2007
Convincing ground: learning to fall in love with your country by Bruce Pascoe.Aboriginal Studies Press, 2007.
Bruce Pascoe asks us to fully acknowledge our past and the way those actions continue to influence our nation today, both physically and intellectually. Pascoe proposes a way forward, beyond shady intellectual argument and immature nationalism: strengths enhanced and weaknesses acknowledged and addressed.
Coercive reconciliation: stabilise, normalise, exit aboriginal Australia edited by Jon Altman and Melinda Hinkson.Arena Publications, 2007.
In this book prominent Aboriginal leaders, experienced academics and social commentators provide a devastating critique of the Howard Government's draconian intervention from the perspectives of human rights, alcohol and health policy, welfare and land rights reforms, Indigenous representation and reconciliation and recognition of cultural diversity. Unfinished business: the Australian formal reconciliation process Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2007. Unfinished Business explores the 1991-2000 reconciliation process. It analyses the process's successes and failures and the factors that affected it, making a substantial contribution to our understanding of reconciliation in Australia.
The 1967 Referendum: Race power and the Australian Constitution by Bain Attwood & Andrew MarkusAboriginal Studies Press, 2nd edition, 2007.
On 27 May 1967 a remarkable event occurred: an overwhelming majority of electors voted in a national referendum to amend clauses of the Australian Constitution concerning Aboriginal people. The publication explores the referendum's legal and political significance, and the long struggle for change. It reveals how and why the referendum acquired significance, and has since become the subject of highly charged myths.
Trustees on trial: recovering the stolen generations by Rosalind KiddAboriginal Studies Press, 2006.
Rosalind Kidd uses official correspondence to reveal the extraordinary extent of government controls over Aboriginal wages, savings, endowments and pensions in twentieth century Queensland.
Fight for Liberty and Freedom: The origins of Australian Aboriginal activisim by John Maynard.Aboriginal Studies Press, 2007.
The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA), begun in 1924, is little heard of today, but the present Aboriginal political movement is drawn from these roots. In this passionate exploration of the life of founder, Fred Maynard, John Maynard reveals the commitment and sacrifices made by these Aboriginal heroes.
For more comprehensive reading lists visit the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Aboriginal Studies Press catalogue.Indigenous Australia:A Select booklist of picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children and young people.
Picture Books
Junior and Young Adult Fiction by Indigenous authors
Biography
Non- Indigenous writing on the themes of White/Black relations, Reconciliation and Aboriginal Australia
Picture Books
Junior Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
This is a select list of titles and is by no means comprehensive. Titles included are readily available at bookstores and at local school and public libraries. Titles may useful for those who wish to learn more about Indigenous Australia.
Titles included are fictional or biographical and represent different aspects of Indigenous culture, Indigenous historical and historical experiences, and white and black relations. There are examples from both urban and remote communities.
Dreamtime stories have not been included in this booklist, although there are many currently in print and available. Non- Fiction titles are also not represented in this list.
If there are titles that you would like to see included please contact ANTaR so they can be included in future booklists. |
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‘The
Australian Formal Reconciliation Process: Unfinished Business’
, explores the political history of the 1991-2000 Australian reconciliation
process. Dr Gunstone argues that none of the goals of the Formal
Reconciliation Process were realised by the end of the decade in
2000.
| Copyright © 2004 ANTaR Victoria |
