In this essay Heiss not only illustrates the breakdown of stereotypes of what Indigenous relationship with land is, but she showcases the wealth of literature being penned nationally by writers who express the diversity of their experiences of 'country'. Whether it be their traditional lands, places they have chosen to relocate to; those that they or their families were removed to; places that people call home and/or connect to; and those who embrace a physical landscape. An historical, social and political space that renders them specifically and culturally significant to individuals, families and community.
In this essay Heiss not only illustrates the breakdown of stereotypes of what Indigenous relationship with land is, but she showcases the wealth of literature being penned nationally by writers who express the diversity of their experiences of 'country'. Whether it be their traditional lands, places they have chosen to relocate to; those that they or their families were removed to; places that people call home and/or connect to; and those who embrace a physical landscape. An historical, social and political space that renders them specifically and culturally significant to individuals, families and community.
One day in 1980, David Mowaljarlai, a Ngarinyin elder, walked into the office of one of Jutta Malnic's co-workers. He was seeking assistance to help him record cultural places in his home country in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Jutta Malnic was at the time writing a book about the rock pictures of Australia, and was looking for assistance from Aboriginal custodians of the Kimberley region. Her book was published in 1982, but the greater outcome of her associations with David Mowaljarlai was Yorro Yorro. ' (Introduction)
'Discusses the Australian Aboriginal forms of social memory. Analysis of its implications in the attempt to distinguish myth and history, orality and literacy; Examination of the historical consciousness in aboriginal Australia; Argument that the dreaming is one instance of a general mode of orientation.' (Publication abstract)