BLM Link Library Update

Hello Sangha,

The Bla(c)k Lives Matter Link Library grew from the idea to gather together in one place all the references to books, articles, films, poetry, etc that have been arising from our discussions around Aboriginal and Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, colonisation, etc. 

Every few weeks I’ll feature a few new items here, in case you are wondering what to read next 🙂

You can access the BLM link library directly at www.brightanddark.net/blmlinks or via the [THEMES] menu above. 

If you would like to contribute a link for the library you can send the suggestions here or you can email them to me directly at curlytrees@gmail.com

Happy Reading 😉

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Oonagh

New this week:

Living on Stolen Land (2020) by Ambelin Kwaymullina

A well timed look at our colonial-settler ‘present’, “Living on Stolen Land’ 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.

Song Spirals: Sharing women’s wisdom of Country through song lines (2019) by the Gay’wu Group of Women

A rare opportunity to connect with the living tradition of women’s songlines, as recounted by Yolngu women from far north Australia, the Gay’wu Group of Women. These ancient narratives of landscape have often been described as a means of navigating across vast distances without a map, but they are much, much more than this. Songspirals are sung by Aboriginal people to awaken Country, to make and remake the life-giving connections between people and place. Songspirals are radically different ways of understanding the relationship people can have with the landscape

Talking Sideways: Stories and Conversations from Finnish Springs (2019) by Reg Dodd & Malcolm McKinnon

‘That’s the way it is with us mob. We were brought up to talk kind of sideways. That’s the respectful, true Aboriginal way.’ Reg Dodd grew up at Finniss Springs, on striking desert country bordering South Australia’s Lake Eyre. In this book, Dodd reflects on his upbringing in a cross-cultural environment that defied social conventions of the time and writes candidly about the tensions surrounding power, authority and Indigenous knowledge that have defined the recent decades of this resource-rich area.

Fire Front: First Nations poetry and power today (2020) a Poetry collection curated by Alison Whittaker

This important anthology showcases Australia’s most-respected First Nations poets alongside some rising stars. Featured poets include Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Ruby Langford Ginibi, Ellen van Neerven, Tony Birch, Claire G. Coleman, Evelyn Araluen, Jack Davis, Kevin Gilbert, Lionel Fogarty, Sam Wagan Watson, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Archie Roach and Alexis Wright, Bruce Pascoe, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Chelsea Bond, Evelyn Araluen and Steven Oliver – a testament to the renaissance of First Nations poetry happening in Australia right now.

little bit long time (2017) by Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ali Cobby Eckermann is a nunga poet and writer from the Northern Territory, now living in the ‘intervention-free’ South Australian village of Koolunga. Her poetry charts a long journey to reconnect with her Yankunytjatjara family.

Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia (2017) by Billy Griffiths

This multi award-winning book is a journey through time, seeking to understand the extraordinary deep history of the Australian continent, investigating a twin revolution: the reassertion of Aboriginal identity in the second half of the twentieth century, and the uncovering of the traces of ancient Australia. It explores what it means to live in a place of great antiquity, with its complex questions of ownership and belonging.

Story about Feeling (1989) Bill Neidjie & Keith Taylor

Bill Neidjie, b.1911, grew up on his Father’s traditional country in the Northern Territory where he was immersed in Aboriginal culture, law, language, song, and ceremony.  This book is a profound and deeply philosophical reflection on all aspects of this life, and the next, told in the oral tradition, gently moving between subjects that are rooted in both spiritual and environmental realms. Includes reproductions of bark paintings and artworks.

Yorro Yorro: Original Creation and the Renewal of Nature (2015) David Mowaljarlai

Aboriginal Elder David Mowaljarlai and photographer Jutta Malnic rekindle a story that constitutes the oldest collective memory of humankind. Yorro Yorro tells of Wandjina creation spirits and their ‘crossing over’ into ancestral beings and then eventually into human form.