There is much to learn from this anthology, but if there’s one thing that stands out it’s the diversity of Aboriginal experience. The 50 contributors include voices from everywhere, and editor Anita Heiss pays tribute to the land first of all:
The stories cover country from Nukunu to Noogar, Wiradjuri to Western Errernte, Ku Ku Yalinji to Kunibídji, Gunditjamara to Gumbaynggirr and many places in between.
Experiences span coastal and desert regions, cities and remote communities, and all of them speak to the heart. (p.1)
These life stories comes from
… all around the country, including from boarding schools and even inside prison; and from schoolchildren, university students and grandparents. We also have recollections of growing up Aboriginal in Australia by opera singers, actors, journalists, academics and activists. In many ways this anthology will also serve to demonstrate how we contribute to, and participate in, many varied aspects of society every day. (p.2)
There are voices that I know because I’ve read their writing:
- Tony Birch, an award-winning novelist and short story writer;
- Terri Janke (who operates an Indigenous owned law firm but also wrote the first Indigenous novel I ever read, Butterfly Song;
- Ambelin Kwaymullina (whose novel The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf I reviewed for #IndigLitWeek);
- Celeste Liddle (whose Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist I read online);
- Jared Thomas who writes the kind of YA novels that adults like to read too;
- Tara June Winch, an award-winning novelist and short story and of course
- editor and author, Anita Heiss herself.
There are also famous names from other spheres of influence: Deborah Cheetham; Adam Goodes; and Miranda Tapsell – but when I turn to the back of the book I discover that all the contributors are doing awe-inspiring things with their lives, even 13-year-old Taryn Little, who knows that her ancestors would be proud of her, that her grandmother would have loved all her hard work and effort, that she is a strong young woman and that she makes her family proud. Susie Anderson is a writer and producer who’s been published in The Lifted Brow, the ABR and Voiceworks while her sister Alice is a singer-songwriter, with a beautiful haunting voice. Bebe Backhouse is a classical music pianist, repetiteur and teacher who organises festivals and events in Melbourne; while baritone Don Bemrose is the first Aboriginal person to perform with Opera Australia. So much talent and hard work is here on display in this book and yet each story is a reminder that there is a long way to go in terms of recognition of its black history and reconciliation with its Indigenous people.
Tamika Worrell is a secondary school teacher and a Kamileroi woman. Her contribution begins like this:
‘What percent Aboriginal are you?’
‘You don’t look like an Aborigine.’
‘You’ve done really well for an Aboriginal.’
“You’re not like those other ones – you’re one of the good ones.’
“You wouldn’t have had it hard growing up.’
‘I’m darker than you are.’
‘Are you really Aboriginal?’
‘So do you get all the benefits?’
‘All Aborigines are angry.’
‘Get over it, it happened two hundred years ago. No one alive today was there.’
‘I’m not racist, I have an Aboriginal friend.’These are phrases I hear constantly. I’m an Aboriginal woman, I’m a Koori woman. I’m not a percentage, I’m not part Aboriginal and I’m not an Aborigine. My skin colour does not dictate my connection to country, my attachment to culture or my understanding of who I am. I’m not your ever-available resource to learn about culture, but being sick of ignorance I’ll probably be inclined to share what I know. I’m not an expert. I know my life, my mob and my stories, but I don’t speak for the diversity of Aboriginal Australia. I do get all the benefits if you’re referring to belonging to the longest-living culture in the world, a culture of beauty and wonder that has guided my identity in every facet of the world. But, no, I don’t get more Centrelink study allowance than you. I haven’t done well for an Aborigine. I’ve done well for any twenty-two-year old who has overcome hardship. (p. 283)
Adolescence can be a tough time, but to have your identity questioned like this must make it even more difficult. If I were a secondary teacher I’d assign one each of these readings to every student in my class, and then open it up for discussion. If we could make each new generation understand the diversity of Indigenous identity, Australia would be a much better place.
Update 17/12/18 For a thoughtful response to this book from psychiatrist and author Anne Buist, see ‘What I’m Reading’ at Meanjin.
Anita Heiss is a Wiradjuri woman from NSW.
Editor: Anita Heiss
Title: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
Publisher: Black Inc, 2018
ISBN: 9781863959810
Source: Personal copy, purchased at Readings, $29.99
Available from Fishpond: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Sounds like a powerful read.
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By: kimbofo on July 22, 2018
at 2:59 am
It’s excellent. Raw, authentic and inspiring.
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By: Lisa Hill on July 22, 2018
at 9:05 am
I think I’ll order this book. The diversity sounds wonderful and I very much agree with your final comment.
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By: TravellinPenguin on July 22, 2018
at 7:37 am
It’s a good book to dip into as well. None of the pieces are very long, so it’s a good handbag book, for on the train or in the waiting room.
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By: Lisa Hill on July 22, 2018
at 9:07 am
Anita Heiss works very hard to bridge the gap in our understanding. And I think you’re right that readings like this have to be internalized at school level. It seemed a few decades ago that racism was on the outer but these days it seems to be mainstream again.
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By: wadholloway on July 22, 2018
at 7:42 am
Yes. I know one can’t blame one man but it seems to me that John Howard licensed racism when he sneered at political correctness.
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By: Lisa Hill on July 22, 2018
at 9:12 am
Yes Lisa. He is responsible for the regression of so many things that I once felt proud of as a working class woman who benefited from the progressive policies of the Whitlam era.
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By: Fay Kennedy on July 22, 2018
at 7:22 pm
It was a depressing era, that’s for sure…
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By: Lisa Hill on July 23, 2018
at 11:58 am
Anita is a fantastic, Deadly author and reading her work always makes me proud to be called Indigenous in every way. Well done, tidda xx
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By: Rosie Malezer on July 22, 2018
at 9:09 pm
I agree, Rosie, but you’re deadly yourself too!
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By: Lisa Hill on July 23, 2018
at 11:58 am
[…] see Lisa’s review at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: Reviews from Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ Litlovers 2018 | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 25, 2018
at 11:43 pm
I loved this book – I saw your post on this and had my fingers crossed that it was available as a Kindle version, because new books are typically hardback and therefore pricey and Kindle books do not count towards my “not buying books phase”! – I started it about 30 minutes after I downloaded it and finished it the following day. I absolutely loved it. After my time living in Wagga I have been fascinated with understanding the Wiradjuri people.
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By: Julie Goucher on July 25, 2018
at 11:47 pm
That’s great, Julie, I will add you to the list of readers and link your comment to the reviews pages too:)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 26, 2018
at 12:13 am
[…] got the books of the speakers I’m going to hear at this year’s festival: Anita Heiss, (Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia); Michael Atherton (A Coveted Possession, the rise and fall of the Piano in Australia); Clare […]
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By: Six Degrees of Separation: From Vanity Fair, to… | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 3, 2018
at 4:14 pm
[…] pride in their identify and the resilience that they are forced to find from very young. (See my review). It was also an opportunity to showcase the skills of a diverse range of people, so very […]
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By: 2018 Word For Word Non Fiction Festival: Get Real (and an autographed giveaway!) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 18, 2018
at 8:37 pm
[…] Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss, see my review This wide-ranging collection of essays brings together the voices of many Indigenous Australian’s […]
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By: Readings’ List of 100 ‘great reads’ by Australian women (and some reviews) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 25, 2018
at 4:08 pm
[…] Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Anita Heiss […]
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By: 2018 ANZLitLovers Australian and New Zealand Best Books of the Year | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 15, 2018
at 5:39 pm
[…] Last but not least, I got to buy Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia in Red Kangaroo Books in Alice Springs. It’s a book I actively looked for after reading Lisa’s review. […]
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By: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Anita Heiss. Highly recommended | Book Around The Corner on December 26, 2018
at 4:09 pm
[…] not crossed my radar at all until the MUBA shone a light on it. And yet it’s a book, like Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss, which has revelatory […]
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By: Living in Hope, by Frank Byrne | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on January 7, 2019
at 9:07 pm
[…] (ANZLitLovers) has also posted on this book, and there are several reviews for the Australian Women Writers […]
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By: Anita Heiss (ed.), Growing up Aboriginal in Australia (#BookReview) | Whispering Gums on February 28, 2019
at 7:16 pm
[…] (Billy Griffiths, Black Inc.) Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (ed by Anita Heiss, Black Inc.), see my review The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted (Robert Hillman, Text) The Geography of Friendship (Sally Piper, […]
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By: 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 7, 2019
at 11:57 am
[…] (Billy Griffiths, Black Inc.) Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (ed by Anita Heiss, Black Inc.), see my review The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted (Robert Hillman, Text) The Geography of Friendship (Sally Piper, […]
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By: 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) winners | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on May 2, 2019
at 9:42 pm
[…] Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Anita Heiss, see my review […]
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By: Time poor? Short fictions to read for Indigenous Literature Week | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 5, 2019
at 11:05 am
[…] Lisa’s review at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: 2018 Indigenous Literature Week – a Reading List of Indigenous Women Writers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 5, 2019
at 11:31 am
[…] Lisa’s review at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: Indigenous Literature Week – a Reading List of Indigenous Women Writers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 5, 2019
at 11:35 am
[…] 2019, which you can pre-order here); Growing up Aboriginal in Australia (2018, see here, and read my review); and Growing Up Asian in Australia (2008, see here). These books are revelatory: they share a […]
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By: Growing Up African in Australia, edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 8, 2019
at 7:14 pm
[…] Growing up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Anita Heiss […]
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By: Autumn Book Binge 2020 | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 14, 2020
at 6:33 pm
[…] Poet Evelyn Araluen talked about her book Drop Bear. (I’ve read some of her writing in Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia.) She attributes her storytelling in part to the wealth of books she was exposed to as a child […]
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By: 2021 Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival: Indigenous storytelling | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on May 16, 2021
at 7:06 pm
[…] Poet Evelyn Araluen talked about her book Drop Bear. (I’ve read some of her writing in Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia.) She attributes her storytelling in part to the wealth of books she was exposed to as a child […]
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By: 2021 Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival: Indigenous storytelling | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on May 16, 2021
at 7:06 pm