growing up aboriginal in australia by anita heiss

If our tiny house wasn’t obvious enough, the faded second-hand clothes made it clear. Commission houses with red bricks: everybody knew the red-brick houses meant you were a poor commission-housing kid. I grew up in the smallest house on my street. I grew up in a very affluent area where there were white people with million-dollar houses. I had never heard that word before so I eventually asked my teacher what it meant and she became agitated she scolded him and threatened him, but still I never knew what this word Abo meant. I laughed along with the joke because I didn’t know what that word meant and I didn’t want to appear stupid. Me and my sister were half-Koori and half-Polish – black Poles, as my mum and dad lovingly referred to us.Ī boy named Shawn told an Abo joke while we were in Italian class in primary school. My mum and dad would tell me how I believed Mum was chocolate, Dad was vanilla and I was caramel. I never foresaw that people would think they understood my story before they heard a word pass through my lips. I didn’t know that people would define me as ‘not looking that Aboriginal’, as if it were a compliment. I didn’t know that people would eventually cross the street to avoid walking on the same path as me. I didn’t know I was black till I was seven years old. ‘Abo Nose’ by Zachary Penrith-Puchalski is one such account.

From well-known and new voices, Heiss has brought together a compelling range of experiences and perspectives in this collection. Contributors include- Tony Birch, Deborah Cheetham, Adam Goodes, Terri Janke, Patrick Johnson, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Jack Latimore, Celeste Liddle, Amy McQuire, Kerry Reed-Gilbert, Miranda Tapsell, Jared Thomas, Aileen Walsh, Alexis West, Tara June Winch, and many, many more.Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia is an important new anthology edited by Anita Heiss. This groundbreaking collection will enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today. All of the contributors speak from the heart - sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect.

Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside those from newly discovered writers of all ages. General Biography / Memoir | Australian/Aotearoa | First PeoplesĬhildhood stories of family, country and belonging What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question.

Growing up aboriginal in australia by anita heiss