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pooxs's review
5.0
I loved the diverse experiences in this anthology, reflecting the range of identities and that despite the racism there are positives
bookstackmatt's review
4.0
I normally have an eBook preference to avoid clutter, but I purchased the paperback edition of this following a campaign by Black Inc to donate $2 from every print sale of the book to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Having previously read Growing Up Queer in Australia, I knew what I was in for.
It was a great time for me to read this given that I am currently undertaking the 'Core Cultural Learning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia Foundation Course' from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies as part of my workplace training. I am halfway through the course, which provides further context to the stories shared here.
I think this is an important read for all Australians to gain an understanding of diverse perspectives, and it was great to see some queer representation as well.
It was a great time for me to read this given that I am currently undertaking the 'Core Cultural Learning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia Foundation Course' from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies as part of my workplace training. I am halfway through the course, which provides further context to the stories shared here.
I think this is an important read for all Australians to gain an understanding of diverse perspectives, and it was great to see some queer representation as well.
katetay69's review
4.0
Another powerful Anthology in the Growing Up series. A necessary read.
As with any anthology some resonated with me more than others. They are all written with tenderness, vulnerability, power and hope.
I think a big takeaway from reading this (and there are many) is the intergenerational trauma from the stolen generations. Along with Aboriginal people who "don't look Aboriginal" and have fair skin, are constantly berated, questioned, and challenged on their Aboriginality.
Some favourite quotes:
- Two Tiddas (Suzy and Alice Anderson) : "because we didn't have dad around, and when theres a connection to him, it makes me feel like a full person.
"I'm struggling to find the voice to write about this because I feel like I don't have any agency or my worlds don't have any value. Like who cares what a fair skinned Aboriginal girl's experience was?"
"I feel like a whole person knowing we have our ancestors helping us, Seeing a pelican fly above me and feeling safe. We're lucky".
As a non-indigenous person, I often wonder how nice it must be to have a connection to land and ancestors.
-White bread dreaming (Shannon Foster)
"My father's ability to story tell was an ancestral ability born of thousands of years of knowledge sharing".
-The little town on the railway track (Kerry Reed-Gilbert)
"When people say to me your mob lives in the past I say to them, No the past lives in us, because if I can stand in front of you and talk about segregation and apartheid that I've experienced in my own country, it can't be the past because I am very much living".
As with any anthology some resonated with me more than others. They are all written with tenderness, vulnerability, power and hope.
I think a big takeaway from reading this (and there are many) is the intergenerational trauma from the stolen generations. Along with Aboriginal people who "don't look Aboriginal" and have fair skin, are constantly berated, questioned, and challenged on their Aboriginality.
Some favourite quotes:
- Two Tiddas (Suzy and Alice Anderson) : "because we didn't have dad around, and when theres a connection to him, it makes me feel like a full person.
"I'm struggling to find the voice to write about this because I feel like I don't have any agency or my worlds don't have any value. Like who cares what a fair skinned Aboriginal girl's experience was?"
"I feel like a whole person knowing we have our ancestors helping us, Seeing a pelican fly above me and feeling safe. We're lucky".
As a non-indigenous person, I often wonder how nice it must be to have a connection to land and ancestors.
-White bread dreaming (Shannon Foster)
"My father's ability to story tell was an ancestral ability born of thousands of years of knowledge sharing".
-The little town on the railway track (Kerry Reed-Gilbert)
"When people say to me your mob lives in the past I say to them, No the past lives in us, because if I can stand in front of you and talk about segregation and apartheid that I've experienced in my own country, it can't be the past because I am very much living".
rachy36's review
4.0
It wasn't a book I could read continuously like a novel. I wanted to provide it with the attention it deserves so took time reading two stories a night. Each story a small but powerful glimpse to help with understanding what life was like growing up in Australia as an Aboriginal. At times it is a hard read, confronting about what people have had to deal with.
I think Australia has a long way to go in reconciliation. Taking the time to listen to people who have these experiences is a good starting point.
I think Australia has a long way to go in reconciliation. Taking the time to listen to people who have these experiences is a good starting point.
katyfaure's review
5.0
What an immense privilege this was to read. It was such a pleasure to be allowed into the world of growing up Aboriginal in Australia - to begin to understand the connection to culture, mob, country, the land and nature. I've left this feeling like I appreciate and understand so much more and have such a thirst to keep learning.
nina_reads_books's review
4.0
Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia is an anthology, compiled by author Anita Heiss, which showcases the stories of more than 50 Aboriginal Australians who each attempt to answer the fundamental question – what does it mean to grow up Aboriginal in Australia?
As a follow on read from Stan Grant’s Talking to My Country, which was a more personal and singular attempt to define Indigenous identity, I found that this book showed a broader range of experiences. The contributors are from a variety of backgrounds and ages including a few well-known people such as Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell and Tara June Winch and their experiences and stories are varied and interesting.
What struck me most though was the common themes that were woven between the stories. In particular the experience of people who grow up with one Aboriginal parent and one non Aboriginal parent was completely eye opening to me. This concept of being too white to be black but not white enough to be truly “white” was really rammed home. Many of the contributors told their stories of walking the line between cultures and sometimes struggling to find their place in either. It was powerful reading.
This is a book that you can dip in and out of and in fact was one I took my time reading over two months which was quite unusual for me. I would recommend you read this book to gain insights into the difficulties as well as the joy that people growing up Aboriginal in Australia experience.
As a follow on read from Stan Grant’s Talking to My Country, which was a more personal and singular attempt to define Indigenous identity, I found that this book showed a broader range of experiences. The contributors are from a variety of backgrounds and ages including a few well-known people such as Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell and Tara June Winch and their experiences and stories are varied and interesting.
What struck me most though was the common themes that were woven between the stories. In particular the experience of people who grow up with one Aboriginal parent and one non Aboriginal parent was completely eye opening to me. This concept of being too white to be black but not white enough to be truly “white” was really rammed home. Many of the contributors told their stories of walking the line between cultures and sometimes struggling to find their place in either. It was powerful reading.
This is a book that you can dip in and out of and in fact was one I took my time reading over two months which was quite unusual for me. I would recommend you read this book to gain insights into the difficulties as well as the joy that people growing up Aboriginal in Australia experience.
becsbookshelf's review
5.0
I would like to pay my respects to the traditional custodians of this land and pay respects to the elders both past and present.
This amazing book was the winner of the small publisher adult book of the year award in 2019 and speaks for itself. I struggled finding where to begin reviewing this incredible book. Dr Anita Hiess has put together an array of wonderful, talented and incredibly humble people to recall their memories of growing up in Australia as an indigenous person and sadly for most the terrible injustices faced by themselves and their families.
Once I began reading I couldn’t stop, each of the 50 short stories so unique yet so powerful. I learnt so much about the stolen generations, the struggles with mainstream learning, double standards, physical and mental health struggles, land and sea spiritual connections, the love from their mobs, racism and above all the categorisation of being deemed as aboriginal and the perceptions that come along with it.
Contributors include @tony_birch_ , Deborah Cheetham, @adamroy37 , Terri Janke, Patrick Johnson, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Jack Latimore, @enigmatic_utopian, Amy McQuire, Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Miranda Tapsell, Jared Thomas, Aileen Walsh, Alexis West, @tara_june_winch and many more.
I’m very honoured to have had the opportunity to pick this novel up. Would highly recommend this to educate and advocate. Australia always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.
“I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to realise but now it’s so obvious that underneath the invisible barriers and expectations we have constructed and placed on each other. We are all bothers and sister. We are all just pink flesh and bone.” @marlee.silva
This amazing book was the winner of the small publisher adult book of the year award in 2019 and speaks for itself. I struggled finding where to begin reviewing this incredible book. Dr Anita Hiess has put together an array of wonderful, talented and incredibly humble people to recall their memories of growing up in Australia as an indigenous person and sadly for most the terrible injustices faced by themselves and their families.
Once I began reading I couldn’t stop, each of the 50 short stories so unique yet so powerful. I learnt so much about the stolen generations, the struggles with mainstream learning, double standards, physical and mental health struggles, land and sea spiritual connections, the love from their mobs, racism and above all the categorisation of being deemed as aboriginal and the perceptions that come along with it.
Contributors include @tony_birch_ , Deborah Cheetham, @adamroy37 , Terri Janke, Patrick Johnson, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Jack Latimore, @enigmatic_utopian, Amy McQuire, Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Miranda Tapsell, Jared Thomas, Aileen Walsh, Alexis West, @tara_june_winch and many more.
I’m very honoured to have had the opportunity to pick this novel up. Would highly recommend this to educate and advocate. Australia always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.
“I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to realise but now it’s so obvious that underneath the invisible barriers and expectations we have constructed and placed on each other. We are all bothers and sister. We are all just pink flesh and bone.” @marlee.silva