Looking for something to read? Try an Indigiread!
The reading theme for May is "Indigireads". We would like to show our respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, of elders past and present. You are invited to join us throughout May in reading an "Indigiread" or two, perhaps chosen from the following selection of recent release novels and biographies by indigenous Australian authors.
You may also like to join us at the Library for a Reconcilation Week event, an Aboriginal Culture Morning at Cronulla Library.
Monday, 3rd June
10.30am
Cronulla Library
Free, Bookings essential.
Mazin Grace by Dylan Coleman
Growing up on the Mission isn't easy for clever Grace Oldman. When her classmates tease her for not having a father, she doesn't know what to say. Papa Neddy says her father is the Lord God in Heaven, but that doesn't help when the Mission kids call her a bastard. As Grace slowly pieces together clues that might lead to answers, she struggles to find a place in a community that rejects her for reasons she doesn't understand.
Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko
When Jo Breen uses her divorce settlement to buy a neglected property in the Byron Bay hinterland, she is hoping for a tree change, and a blossoming connection to the land of her Aboriginal ancestors. What she discovers instead is sharp dissent from her teenage daughter Ellen, trouble brewing from unimpressed white neighbours, and a looming Native Title war among the local Bundjalung families. When Jo stumbles into love on one side of the Native Title divide she quickly learns that living on country is only part of the recipe for the Good Life.
Red dirt talking by Jacqueline Wright
It's build-up time in the north-western town of Ransom, just before the big wet, when people go off the rails.In the midst of a bitter custody battle, an eight year old girl goes missing.Annie, an anthropology graduate fresh from the city, is determined to uncover the mystery of the child's disappearance.As Annie searches for the truth beneath the township's wild speculations, she finds herself increasingly drawn towards Mick Hooper, a muscly, seemingly laid-back bloke with secrets of his own.
Good Morning Mr Sarra by Chris Sarra
When Chris Sarra arrived as the first Aboriginal principal of Cherbourg State School in 1998, it was a time of high hopes but low expectations in Indigenous education. Over the next six years, he transformed the school into a national success story, but not without controversy along the way.
I'm Aboriginal. I'm just not the Aboriginal person a lot of people want or expect me to be. What does it mean to be Aboriginal? Why is Australia so obsessed with notions of identity? Anita Heiss, successful author and passionate campaigner for Aboriginal literacy, was born a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales, but was raised in the suburbs of Sydney and educated at the local Catholic school. She is Aboriginal - however, this does not mean she likes to go barefoot and, please, don't ask her to camp in the desert. In this deeply personal memoir, told in her distinctive, wry style, Anita Heiss gives a first-hand account of her experiences as a woman with an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father, and explains the development of her activist conciousness.
You are also invited to join the Twitter Reading group, holding a live twitter discussion on 28 May starting at 8.00pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. Use the tags #indigiread and #rwpchat as you discuss the reading, watching playing that is your experience of indigiread, so others can join in the conversation too.
You may also like to join us at the Library for a Reconcilation Week event, an Aboriginal Culture Morning at Cronulla Library.
Monday, 3rd June
10.30am
Cronulla Library
Free, Bookings essential.
Growing up on the Mission isn't easy for clever Grace Oldman. When her classmates tease her for not having a father, she doesn't know what to say. Papa Neddy says her father is the Lord God in Heaven, but that doesn't help when the Mission kids call her a bastard. As Grace slowly pieces together clues that might lead to answers, she struggles to find a place in a community that rejects her for reasons she doesn't understand.
Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko
When Jo Breen uses her divorce settlement to buy a neglected property in the Byron Bay hinterland, she is hoping for a tree change, and a blossoming connection to the land of her Aboriginal ancestors. What she discovers instead is sharp dissent from her teenage daughter Ellen, trouble brewing from unimpressed white neighbours, and a looming Native Title war among the local Bundjalung families. When Jo stumbles into love on one side of the Native Title divide she quickly learns that living on country is only part of the recipe for the Good Life.
Red dirt talking by Jacqueline Wright
It's build-up time in the north-western town of Ransom, just before the big wet, when people go off the rails.In the midst of a bitter custody battle, an eight year old girl goes missing.Annie, an anthropology graduate fresh from the city, is determined to uncover the mystery of the child's disappearance.As Annie searches for the truth beneath the township's wild speculations, she finds herself increasingly drawn towards Mick Hooper, a muscly, seemingly laid-back bloke with secrets of his own.Good Morning Mr Sarra by Chris Sarra
One man's fight to turn the tide of low expectations.
When Chris Sarra arrived as the first Aboriginal principal of Cherbourg State School in 1998, it was a time of high hopes but low expectations in Indigenous education. Over the next six years, he transformed the school into a national success story, but not without controversy along the way.
From his childhood as the youngest in a large Italian-Aboriginal family, Chris was taught to be proud of who he was and where he came from. But he only began to understand that not every Aboriginal child grew up with this sense of worth when he started working as a teacher. He became determined to defy expectations of being Aboriginal and, in doing so, to change them for others. His role at Cherbourg finally gave him a chance to put his philosophy into practice. Along the way, he battled the media, the education system and a culture of complacency.
Am I black enough for you? Anita Heiss
I'm Aboriginal. I'm just not the Aboriginal person a lot of people want or expect me to be. What does it mean to be Aboriginal? Why is Australia so obsessed with notions of identity? Anita Heiss, successful author and passionate campaigner for Aboriginal literacy, was born a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales, but was raised in the suburbs of Sydney and educated at the local Catholic school. She is Aboriginal - however, this does not mean she likes to go barefoot and, please, don't ask her to camp in the desert. In this deeply personal memoir, told in her distinctive, wry style, Anita Heiss gives a first-hand account of her experiences as a woman with an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father, and explains the development of her activist conciousness.
Read her story and ask: what does it take for someone to be black enough for you?
