Friday, July 12, 2019

Young Dark Emu - a truer history

Bruce Pascoe
Magabala Books

I love this book .....
It is the long waited and much needed children's version of Bruce Pascoe's award winning and hugely popular title Dark Emu.

The beautifully presented book includes many extracts from original nineteenth century colonial diaries - many of which show that prior to colonisation the Aboriginal people had been working together actors the country to farm and care for the land. As Bruce says in his introduction "... I give examples of firsthand accounts, including diaries and illustrations, from early settlers and explorers. These eyewitness accounts showing how Aboriginal people lived at the time of colonisation provides a view that does not fit with the traditional idea of the Aboriginal nomadic hunter-gatherer.  Readers will see Australia as it was before colonisation. It will inspire investigation into the land, the animals and plants, and how the Aboriginal people were intertwined with the land. just a few snippets from the book:

  • Just as most Australian towns have cemeteries and sacred places today, so did Aboriginal villages.
  • European settlers saw fire as a threat. Aboriginal people viewed it differently.
  • Indigenous plants... do not require any more water than the climate supplies, no more fertiliser and no pesticides. 

With bibliography, picture credits and thorough index, this is a wonderful book to use for discussion - especially in this moment of constitutional reflection and inclusion.

and see this clip of Bruce talking about Young Dark Emu.


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