10 Indigenous Picture Books For 10 Important Learning Topics
It is really empowering to see that schools and early learning services across the country are taking active approaches to exploring important Indigenous issues with their children. With nation-wide movements such as the Know Your Country campaign, we are seeing a movement away from the silence in the classroom when it comes to Indigenous content, and a move towards introducing children to topics that in the past, would not have found a voice in the classroom; topics like the fiction of ‘terra nullius’, or the Black Lives Matter movement.
In this blog we highlight some critical books that explore issues like these. Books you need to get on your children’s bookshelves and into your school libraries. Pop this list on your classroom reading list for 2022.
Invasion Day: Day Break is a must have for your January 26 reflections in the classroom. The story refocuses the narratives around ‘Australia Day’ on Indigenous survival and resistance, and in doing so honours the past while looking to the future. Confronting yet truthful, painful yet full of hope, Day Break is a crucial story that will open up a conversation on truth-telling for the next generation.
Always Was, Always Will Be: Somebody’s Land is an accessible picture book for young children that introduces First Nations history and the term 'terra nullius' to a general audience, from Australian of the Year, community leader and anti-racism advocate Adam Goodes and political adviser and former journalist Ellie Laing, with artwork by Barkindji illustrator David Hardy. Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing's powerful words and David Hardy's pictures, full of life, invite children and their families to imagine themselves into Australia's past - to feel the richness of our First Nations' history, to acknowledge that our country was never terra nullius, and to understand what 'welcome to our country' really means.
Black Lives Matter: In When We Say Black Lives Matter, a black child's parents explain what the term Black Lives Matter means to them: in protest and song, in joy and in sorrow. I see this picture book as an act of Black Love - “I was inspired to write and create it when thinking about how to explain the concept of Black Lives Matter to the young African diaspora kids in my extended family, living in over eight different countries across the world - including America, Australia, Germany, Barbados and England.” - Maxine Beneba Clarke, on writing When We Say Black Lives Matter.
The Uluru Statement of the Heart: In 2017, a constitutional convention bringing together over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders met at the foot of Uluru in Central Australia on the lands of the Aṉangu people. The majority resolved, in the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’, to call for the establishment of a ‘First Nations Voice’ in the Australian Constitution and a ‘Makarrata Commission’ to supervise a process of ‘agreement-making’ and ‘truth-telling’ between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In Finding our Heart, children are introduced to this important Statement. It is a book about understanding Australia’s past, so we can have a shared future.
We Come in All Shades: In Fair Skin Black Fella, we hear the story of Mary, a young girl who lives on a dusty cattle station. When she is shunned by the other girls because of her fair skin, Old Ned, one of the community Elders, speaks up for her. With words of wisdom, he teaches the girls that Aboriginal identity transcends skin colour and that family, community, country, and culture is what being Aboriginal is really about.
Aboriginal Land Rights: In 1966, more than two hundred courageous Aboriginal people walked off the Wave Hill Cattle Station in the Northern Territory. Led by Vincent Lingiari, these stockmen and their families were walking together to fight for equal pay and land rights. Exquisitely illustrated and designed, Freedom Day brings a landmark historical event to a new generation. Many people have seen the iconic photograph of Gough Whitlam pouring a handful of red soil into the hands of Vincent Lingiari – a symbol of the legal transfer of Gurindji land back to the Gurindji people – and recognise this as a key moment in the ongoing land rights movement.
We are the World’s Oldest Scientists: The First Scientists is the highly anticipated, illustrated science book from Corey Tutt of DeadlyScience. In consultation with communities, Corey tells us of many deadly feats – from bush medicine to bush trackers – that are today considered 'science', and introduces us to many amazing scientists, both past and present. The breadth of ‘sciences’ is incredible with six main chapters covering astronomy, engineering, forensic science, chemistry, land management and ecology. The first scientists passed on the lessons of the land, sea and sky to the future scientists of today through stories, song and dance, and many of these lessons are now shared in this book.
The Stolen Generation: Stolen Girl explores complex themes relating to the Stolen Generation. It is a fictionalised account of the Stolen Generation that tells of an Aboriginal girl taken from her family by the government and sent to a children’s home. She sings and dreams of her mother and the life they once shared but each morning is woken by the bell to the harsh reality of the children’s home. Finally, one day she unlocks the door and takes her first step toward home.
Acknowledgment of Country: In Hello and Welcome, feel the welcome as we celebrate Indigenous culture, Elders and future generations. Join the corroboree in the traditional Gamilaraay language of the Kamilaroi people as we listen and learn together. This book by Greg Dreiss is a great resource to complement teaching children about Acknowledgment to Country’s and why we do them.
Aboriginal Art: Albert Namatjira is a unique children’s picture book of both artistic beauty and historical importance, and will appeal to children, art collectors and those looking for a special gift. This poignant children’s book provides an important tool for discussion about Australia’s art history, and a launching pad for exploration of the key moments in Australia’s Aboriginal Rights movement.
