Indigenous Australia For Dummies

by Larissa Behrendt, Stan Grant (Foreword)

A comprehensive, relevant, and accessible look at all aspects of Indigenous Australian history and culture

What is The Dreaming? How many different Indigenous tribes and languages once existed in Australia? What is the purpose of a corroboree? What effect do the events of the past have on Indigenous peoples today? Indigenous Australia For Dummies, 2nd Edition answers these questions and countless others about the oldest race on Earth. It explores Indigenous life in Australia before 1770, the impact of white settlement, the ongoing struggle by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to secure their human rights and equal treatment under the law, and much more.

Celebrating the contributions of Indigenous people to contemporary Australian culture, the book explores Indigenous art, music, dance, literature, film, sport, and spirituality. It discusses the concept of modern Indigenous identity and examines the ongoing challenges facing Indigenous communities today, from health and housing to employment and education, land rights, and self-determination.

Explores significant political moments--such as Paul Keating's Redfern Speech, Kevin Rudd's apology, and more Profiles celebrated people and organisations in a variety of fields, from Cathy Freeman to Albert Namatjira to the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the National Aboriginal Radio Service Challenges common stereotypes about Indigenous people and discusses current debates, such as land rights and inequalities in health and education Now in its second edition, Indigenous Australia For Dummies will enlighten readers of all backgrounds about the history, struggles and triumphs of the diverse, proud, and fascinating peoples that make up Australia's Indigenous communities. With a foreword by Stan Grant, it's a must-read account of Australia's first people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia, History

487 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Larissa is the author of three novels: Home, which won the 2002 David Unaipon Award and the regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book; Legacy, which won the 2010 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing; and After Story. She has published numerous books on Indigenous legal issues; her most recent non-fiction book is Finding Eliza: Power and Colonial Storytelling. She was awarded the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year award and 2011 NSW Australian of the Year. Larissa wrote and directed the feature films, After the Apology and Innocence Betrayed and has written and produced several short films. In 2018 she won the Australian Directors’ Guild Award for Best Direction in a Documentary Feature and in 2020 the AACTA for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television. She is the host of Speaking Out on ABC radio and is Distinguished Professor at the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.

Reviews

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a North American who didn't know too much about Indigenous Australians beyond what I've seen in movies like Rabbit Proof Fence or The Sapphires, I found this book thoughtful, cohesive and very thorough at presenting a complete overview of Indigenous Australia history, life and culture, and the challenges facing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations from the coming of the Europeans and colonial rule to the present day. It includes a lot of useful references to other sources. It's a great jumping off point to learning more about Australia and the Indigenous peoples living there, and has many instructive parallels to the treatment of First Nations people in Canada and Native North Americans in the United States (e.g., the discussions of the Stolen Generations in Australia and the history of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop in Canada). I can't remember how I stumbled across it, but I'm glad that I did.

[Carl Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. A harrowing, confronting disturbing and shocking factual account of the history and lives of Indigenous peoples of Australia & Torres straight islands. Their shameful, racist treatment at the hands of initially the British invaders and subsequent governments and white peoples is overwhelming and beyond inhumane. This has been a steep and disturbing learning episode that will never leave me. My mind is blown and my heart is broken.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the things an anglo Australian feels too awkward to ask; a really helpful and comprehensive book

[Dave McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really thorough, wide-ranging account of the issues facing indigenous Australia in the past and present., with some analysis of challenges ahead.
In particular the author has done well to lay out the historical relations between First nations people and indigenous settlers, including European efforts to co-exist, the frontier wars, early labour issues and even the first indigenous sports teams.
It is fairly lengthy, and given the For Dummies style of modular reading it can feel repetitive at times if read from cover to cover. That being said it is a something for everybody read and worth looking at if starting from a low base on indigenous Australia