On Thursday, May 4, NACC staff and invited guests were honoured to attend an intimate gathering with Aboriginal Author Bruce Pascoe.
Bruce Pascoe is an award-winning author of the book, ‘Dark Emu’, a book that challenges the documentation of Aboriginal culture and agricultural methods.
In his book, Bruce uses the accounts of early explorers describing the environment and Aboriginal people, and explains how food production and land management have been hugely understated.
Bruce talked about his journey as a young Aboriginal man finding his way through his Aboriginality, history and culture.
Connection to country, watching and learning from your country, respecting your Elders guidance and being a proud Aboriginal person were key messages expressed to all who attended. Special attention was given to the youth in the audience as the future Elders of our community.
Bruce discussed challenging common historical facts and presented the facts that Aboriginal people were the first people in the world to make bread, previously thought to be the Egyptians. “This is our heritage, no one else on Earth has got it,” Bruce remarked.
Many Aboriginal guests discussed Dreaming stories from their country with Bruce and the concept of songlines, connecting all Aboriginal communities.
Bruce also met Nhanda women Jenny Clayton and Irene Kelly and talked about the documentation of Nhanda agriculture that is mentioned in detail in ‘Dark Emu’.
Jenny Clayton said: “It was interesting to find out that Aboriginal people all over Australia used agriculture like us Nhanda mob.”
Bruce also enjoyed a delicious bush food afternoon tea provided by Donna Ronan including johnny cakes with kangaroo brawn and gulyu (bush potato) sticks.
I found it totally interesting to find out that Aboriginal Nhanda people actually were agriculturalist, in the Non-indigenous peoples eye this shows that we have our rights as human beings to own and belong to our country.