First Nations Resources

Childhood stories of family, country and belonging. This anthology showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside those from newly discovered writers of all ages. This groundbreaking collection will enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today.
[First Nations author]

'Talking to my country' is Stan Grant's very personal meditation on race, identity and history. It is that rare and special book that talks to every Australian about their country - what it is, and what it could be. It is not just about race, or about indigenous people but all of us, our shared identity. Direct, honest and forthright, Stan is talking to us all. He might not have all the answers but he wants us to keep on asking the question: how can we be better?
[First Nations author]

In this heartfelt and revealing memoir, told in her distinctive, wry style, with large doses of humour, Anita Heiss gives a firsthand account of her experiences as a woman with a Wiradyuri mother and Austrian father. Anita explains the development of her activist consciousness, how she strives to be happy and healthy, and the work she undertakes every day to ensure the world she leaves behind will be more equitable and understanding than it is today.
[First Nations author]

All My Mob is a fascinating compilation of new stories of contemporary urban Koori life, and includes selected highlights from Ruby's earlier memoir Real Deadly.The stories tell how Ruby's people, the Bundjalung nation, live today.
[First Nations author]

Eighteen Aboriginal Australians from across the country share powerful stories that are central to their lives, family, community, or country. The stories provide a very personal picture of the history, culture, and contemporary experience of Aboriginal Australia.
[First Nations author]

As ngua rises, Bunjil soars over mountain ash, flying higher and higher as the wind warms. Below, Birrarung begins its long winding path down to palem warreen.
[First Nations author]

In this book, Isaiah establishes a foundation of First Nations knowledge with 20 key topics and connects us to each topic through his own personal story and culture, from the importance of Elders to the Dreaming.
[First Nations author]

Winthali is a traditional Bunuba story, adapted here by Joe Willigan Ross and Stacey Bush. Greedy Old Man Crocodile (Lallanggarra) won't share his fire with the Bunuba people, but Brown Falcon (Girrganyi), with the help of the young ones, has a clever plan to bring fire out into the open. This story belongs to the Danggu people of the Fitzroy Valley.
[First Nations author]

A unique picture book collaboration about having fun, sharing culture and the power of story and dance. A picture book to get the whole town dancing.
[First Nations author]

There was a hum of excitement. Flags flickered in the breeze as Maggie's heart danced. Maggie holds tight to her mother as they await the long anticipated apology. A retelling of the day when the then Prime Minister of Australia acknowledged the sorrows of past and said sorry to the generation of children who were taken from their homes.

One crocodile with many sharp teeth, two snake-necked turtles swimming in a billabong, three water goannas soaking up the sun... Learn to count with the animals of Australia's West Arnhem Land and the traditional art of indigenous Kunwinjku culture.
[First Nations author]

This story comes from the Aboriginal people at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in Western Australia. It was told in the Kija language by Jacko Dolumyu and then in English by Hector Jandany. The illustrations are adapted from paintings of the story done by the children living at Warmun.
[First Nations author]

Learn from real voices and experiences. Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education, third edition, helps pre-service teachers prepare themselves for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in urban, remote and rural primary and secondary schools.

This is an essential, practical resource for pre- and in-service educators on creating contexts for success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Based on the latest research and practice, this book provides an in-depth understanding of the colonised context within which education in Australia is located, with an emphasis on effective strategies for the classroom.
[First Nations author]

In Australia, we have two distinct peoples who are Indigenous to our nation: Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. An ongoing commitment to progressing reconciliation with young children can be achieved through building positive relationships, demonstrating respect and creating opportunities with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community in which you live and work.
[First Nations author]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education addresses key issues and challenges faced by teacher education students and assists them to understand the deeper social, cultural and historical factors shaping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.Engagingly written by respected and experienced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academics and educators, this book continues to be an essential resource for students and teachers.

Welcome to a food-lover's guidebook to the First Foods of this continent. Including an informative guide to more than 60 of the most accessible Indigenous ingredients, including their flavour profiles, along with tips for how to buy, grow and store them. A groundbreaking celebration of the most accessible and popular Australian native ingredients and their uses in the everyday home kitchen.
[First Nations author]

In Mabu Mabu, charismatic First Nations chef Nornie Bero champions the tastes of native flavours in everyday cooking by unlocking the secrets of Australian herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits.
[First Nations author]

Covers the many uses of Victorian flora by the indigenous peoples. This book takes a fascinating journey through the human history of Victoria's native plants. It contains over 150 colour photographs of plants traditionally important to the Aboriginal people who managed the natural resources of this abundant region for thousands of years.

This guide to Australia's remarkable wealth of bush tucker describes 170 bush foods and medicines, and their unique and often unusual uses. This pocket sized guide is packed with fascinating information, distribution maps, and traditional uses.

With a strong emphasis on research-based Indigenous voices and perspectives, this book provides a culturally safe framework for you to understand the importance of treating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples effectively and the knowledge needed to do so. It presents a strengths-based focus to help students and practitioners build their understanding of self and others in professional practice to ensure better health outcomes for First Nations peoples. The text includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts of history, society and culture, and topics include cultural safety, truth telling, colonialism and shared futures.
[First Nations author]

Yatdjuligin introduces students to the fundamentals of the health care of Indigenous Australians from the perspectives of both the patient and the professional. Designed for both non-Indigenous and Indigenous nurses and midwives who will work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, this book addresses the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and mainstream health services, and prepares students for practice in a variety of contexts.
[First Nations author]

Prepares nursing and allied health students for health care practice among Indigenous Australian communities and encourages best clinical practice and skill development. The experiences and expert knowledge of the author team are combined with a diverse range of case examples to equip students with an understanding of culturalcompetencies and to prepare them for the diverse and alternative approaches to health care they will need to adopt when working with Indigenous Australians and community groups.

This core textbook offers a comprehensive framework for creating a culturally safe environment and enhancing health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The material covered has evolved from decades of working closely with Indigenous health workers, academics and communities, and teaching Indigenous health to undergraduate students. Through case studies, discussions, reflections and critiques of health issues in Australia today, it offers a starting point for learning about cultural safety in an Indigenous health context.

A comprehensive treatment of primary health care issues affecting Aboriginal people in Australia. The book aims to assist those working in the field of Aboriginal health to understand the evidence base behind primary care interventions. Recommendations for ways of implementing various measures are discussed.

What is it really like to nurse and to be nursed in a remote Aboriginal community?Jennifer Cramer brings together years of nursing experience and meticulous research expertise to give an insightful and disturbing expose of the dilemmas and deficiencies in the actual delivery of health services to Aboriginal people in Warburton in the central desert of Western Australia.

An historic document: the first official investigation of Aboriginal Land Rights commissioned by the Whitlam Government.

The highly regarded history of Australia's First Nations people since colonisation, fully updated for this fifth edition.

Everything you'd like to know about Indigenous Australia past and present, presented in an accessible, authoritative and straightforward style. An updated edition of a national bestseller.

"The 1967 Referendum" explores the legal and political significance of the referendum and the long struggle by black and white Australians for constitutional change. It traces the emergence of a series of powerful narratives about the Australian Constitution and the status of Aborigines, revealing how and why the referendum campaign acquired so much significance and has since become the subject of highly charged myth in contemporary Australia. The text is complemented by personal recollections and opinions about the referendum by a range of Indigenous people, and historical documents and illustrations.

This is the inside story of the Mabo case, a unique court drama where rights and interests previously unknown to Anglo-Australian law came to be recognized by the High Court of Australia. In exploring the role of native title in the reshaping of Australian identity, some of the deeper questions of cultural diversity and self-determination are identified.

A decade on from the decision in Mabo, this book provides an accurate, accessible and unbiased account of what the judges and the Acts of Parliament have actually said about native title, what it means and what problems are likely to arise. Includes two new chapters on how the Native Title legislation has worked in practice, what important issues remain to be resolved and some possible future directions for solving them.

Delving deep into the Australian landscape and the environmental challenges we face, Fire Country is a powerful account from Indigenous land management expert Victor Steffensen on how the revival of cultural burning practices, and improved 'reading' of country, could help to restore our land.
[First Nations author]
**also available as an ebook**

Explodes the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness revealing the complex, country-wide systems of land management used by Aboriginal people.

This work provides a comprehensive account of indigenous land and water management in Australia, with an emphasis on practical outcomes to manage the country for a sustainable future.

This book outlines how the beautiful Kakadu national park is managed by its traditional owners. With chapters covering heritage issues, reconciling competing interests, the phsyical environment and fire management.

Introduces readers to the major issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under the Anglo-Australian legal system, with a focus on the impact of historical and contemporary law and policy.
It engages readers in key debates, such as reparations for the Stolen Generation and changes to the Constitution, and explores how the law can play a role in providing a framework for recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights.
[First Nations author]

From the early 1970s, the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia has been influential in national campaigns to address the legacies of dispossession and human rights abuses. As a lively and multi-dimensional account, this book shows the human face of some of the Australia's major social, political, and legal reforms during the last four decades.

Covers the full scope of Indigenous legal issues with considerable depth, including extracts of key primary materials. The authors share the belief that the law has contributed to the disadvantaged position of so many Indigenous Australians, but that the law also has a key role to play in the search for solutions and reconciliation.

Indigenous Legal Relations in Australia considers Indigenous peoples contact with Anglo-Australian law, and deals primarily with the problems the imposed law has had in its relationship with Indigenous people in Australia. The book is comprehensive in scope and covers key issues relating to sovereignty, jurisdiction and territorial acquisition; family law and child protection; criminal law, policing and sentencing; land rights and native title; cultural consitutional law; social justice, self-determination and treaty issues.
[First Nations author]

This is the inside story of the Mabo case, a unique court drama where rights and interests previously unknown to Anglo-Australian law came to be recognized by the High Court of Australia. In exploring the role of native title in the reshaping of Australian identity, some of the deeper questions of cultural diversity and self-determination are identified.

Originally published in 1994, The Little Red Yellow Black Book has established itself as the perfect starting point for those who want to learn about the rich cultures and histories of Australia's First Peoples. Written from an Indigenous perspective, this highly illustrated and accessible introduction covers a range of topics from history, culture and the Arts, through to activism and reconciliation. In this fourth edition, readers will learn about some of the significant contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made, and continue to make, to the Australian nation.
**also available as an ebook**

This anthology represents the views of Aboriginal leaders, Australian politicians, social commentators and youth activists. Features such writers as Peter Garrett, John Howard, Inga Clendinnen, Pat Dodson, Hugh Mackay, Kim Beazley and many more Australian writers. Foreword by Sir William Deane.

In Australia, we have two distinct peoples who are Indigenous to our nation: Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. An ongoing commitment to progressing reconciliation with young children can be achieved through building positive relationships, demonstrating respect and creating opportunities with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community in which you live and work.
[First Nations author]

Covers the issues that indigenous communities face, with specific chapters devoted to the areas of children, youth, family violence, and criminal justice. This book shows social workers how they can develop their skills in this area and excel in providing services with the best fit for Indigenous communities.

Offers the collective voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and allied colleagues as a foundation for creating the conditions of possibility that will aid in the transformation of Australian social work into a field of work that honours its ethical and moral aims.
[First Nations author]

Reducing Aboriginal violence entails fundamental cultural change. This book explores ways that, in a spirit of compassion and recognition of universal human rights, the nation can assist remote Aboriginal people live successfully within, or to have frequent, welcoming, positive interaction with, mainstream culture, so that acquisition of the mainstream's higher intolerance for violence can occur.

Larissa Behrendt attacks the chasm which has grown between Indigenous lives and aspirations in Australia, and the 'terra nullius', which continues, despite Mabo, to pervade so much of Australia's mythology and policy. She proposes longer term, aspirational initiatives leading to institutional change that will facilitate greater rights protection, including: a preamble to the Constitution, a treaty, economic redistribution, alternative institutional forms, regional framework agreements, and a more energised politics Constitutional protection.
[First Nations author]

A curated guidebook to Indigenous Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. Offers fascinating insights into Indigenous languages and customs, history, native title, art and dance, storytelling, and cultural awareness and etiquette for visitors.
[First Nations author]

Loving Country is a powerful and essential guidebook that offers a new way to travel and discover Australia through an Indigenous narrative. This immersive book covers history, Dreaming stories, traditional cultural practices, Indigenous tours and the importance of recognition and protection of place.
[First Nations author]

Within its busy urban presence, Melbourne has a rich and complex Aboriginal heritage. Amongst the city landscape lie layers of a turbulent history and an ongoing vibrant culture. But you need to know where to look. Melbourne Dreaming allows you to take guided tours, or to plan your own self-guided walk. While it's an authoritative guidebook with clear maps, travelling instructions and stories and images of significant people and events, it's also an alternative social history, told through precincts of significance to the city's Aboriginal people.

This companion to the Australia guide is ideal for travellers who want to understand the country's 50,000-year-old cultural tradition. More than 60 Indigenous people have contributed to this guide, together with some of LP's most experienced guidebook researchers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers cover the Dreaming, bush tucker, art, sport, music and modern Australia's history from invasion-era massacres to modern-day disadvantage.

A unique tool for exploring and understanding the lives and cultures of Australia's First Peoples. This second edition a window onto the landscape of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives, from over 60,000 years ago to the present time. An atlas visually represents patterns of human activities in space and time. The maps, which form the core of the book, are supplemented by explanatory text and numerous diagrams, photographs and illustrations, including Indigenous artworks.