Nomad Girl: My life on the gibber plains and beyond

by Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee

Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee was born at Oodnadatta in remote South Australia in 1932. When her mother tragically died Myra was only eight. Her grieving father gathered up the remaining family and walked north—away from her childhood home. They spent years as nomads, travelling with the camels that were her father’s livelihood, up and down the Finke River. Her father sought work where and when he could, while he looked after his children, teaching them about the bush, their culture, and life. It was a childhood of freedom, bush tucker, bush games, fires, stories at night, and sleeping under the stars—at times idyllic but, at other times, terrifying and tragic. Myra’s father was a safe and reassuring presence, but when he decided education was the key to his children’s future, Myra’s life was changed forever. ‘My family pulled all their strengths together from the bush life and from school education. We have shown how it is possible to be successful in life, bringing both sides of our cultures into line.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Indigenous, History

224 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2021

Reviews

[Veronica Strachan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful memoir to gift to the world. Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee has in her own words 'straddled the old life and the new'. She shares her childhood foraging, walking, riding and living in the bush, tracing the Finke and Hugh rivers with her family. Reading of the bounty of the country, the deep connection Kanakiya has with it and her family was wonderful. Keeping track of all the familial connections, her jobs, her art, her teaching was a lovely recollection of her life well-lived. Kanakiya felt she had successfully brought all the sides of culture into line, and that she hasn't lost her Aboriginal knowledge of the land, culture and language. This is a special glimpse into the world of an amazing and compassionate woman, and her generous sharing of language and story is most appreciated.
A great read.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In summary a First Nation family that bridged the two worlds of white Australia and their own rich cultural heritage.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aboriginal writers are publishing their own history, with the research and genealogy attending Native Title claims often the catalyst, and Myra Ah Chee's book is one of the best, opening up a whole new perspective on that vast area of the Western Desert in central Australia surrounding Uluru and encompassing the Simpson desert, the Tanami desert and others.
The Aboriginal People who lived here prior to the coming of the Europeans are grouped together by anthropologists under the name, Western Desert Bloc which includes 13 language groups. Most of us at one time in our lives, take the journey to Uluru and Kata-Tjuta, and hear for the first time from local guides about the Anangu People which is the way Aboriginal languages refer to the broad Western Desert Bloc. At this point as we marvel at the country and feel the almost tangible other-worldly atmosphere, we realise there is a whole other history, a whole other map with names we can't get our tongues around and learn that places we have heard about like Hermannsburg, site of the famous Lutheran Mission, have much older Aboriginal names, Ntaria, the site of the mission. It was on the Finke River that Myra's story has many of its locations. After the death of her mother when she was 8, her father took her and some of her siblings on a trip on their camels north from Oodnadatta back to his country around Jay Creek, where he taught them all about their country, how to navigate vast distances and not get lost, how to find water in the desert, the identification of the animals, trees and plants and what was edible and which had medicinal properties; it was a complete education which they all survived in a desert which claimed the lives of many European explorers and settlers.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, for a sensitive but always joyful celebration of life for a girl growing up between two broad cultures. She does share the horror story of the Maralinga nuclear testing which her husband worked on and the effect on his health, the removal of children by the government from their families, and other tragic events, but her approach to her life story is the epitome of resilience and adaptability. #Pitjantjatjara, Pintupi-Luritja, Walpiri, Arrente #AlbertNamatjira.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever visited your grandma for tea and you end up chatting about her upbringing, distant relatives and life story?
This books feels a lot like that.

“Let me tell you about where I was born, my seven siblings and the adventures we had as children.”

“So eventually Donna ended up marrying Harry and their third daughter Jenny went to school here and there and does amazing art and ventured off with a man from this place and…”

I love listening to my grandma’s stories. I love the insight it gives me into who she is as a person, the things and people that were important to her when she was my age. Still, I often trail off when she starts mentioning a lengthy list of names of people and places I have no association to. That also goes for this book. It just left me skimming parts of it.

Still I want to say that I loved the cultural insight this gave me into how it was living as a nomad aboriginal family in the 1930’s. It’s an upbringing so different from my own and I loved the stories from the plains.

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Australia edges toward a decision on whether or not to give First Nations people a voice in Parliament, Ah Chee's memories of Outback with a loving family is good reading for all of us. It is embarrassing that in 2023 there is any doubt the nation's first peoples should be consulted when decisions are made concerning them. Memoirists like Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee make the case without needing to refer to any referendum. Despite experiencing the racism still rife in Australia, Ah Chee retained a sunny outlook, in no small part because of a loving family.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this lovely memoir and it's positive message.  Myra's outlook on life, and the credit she gave to the sustaining forces of country and a loving family, was inspiring. I liked the way the story was told and the focus on her ability to blend her two worlds and to move through life and achieve success without losing her sense of identity.