'Kangkushot provides valuable insights into the rich and spiritual way Aboriginal people view their lives and land, and their place in it.'
'Born in Yarrie country in Western Australia’s Pilbara, he describes a life of danger, drama and hardship; his people forced to work on pastoral stations for meagre rations, their lives subject to the whims of white pastoralists, government agents and legislators. Coppin went on to be awarded a British Empire medal, was joint NAIDOC elder of the year – and won a police medal, as well as negotiating the first perpetual leases over Pilbara land and running a successful cattle station.' (Source: Publishers Website)
'The performance work "Yandy" is adapted from the 1999 book Kangkushot: The Life of Nyamal Lawman Peter Coppin, a biography of an elder of the Yandeyarra community. The biography and play were written by journalist and speech-writer, Jolly Read, in collaboration with Coppin. Whereas Kangkushot begins with Coppin's birth at Yarrie Station by the De Grey River in 1920 and follows events of his life until around 1997, "Yandy" focuses on the story of a key group of people involved in organising the first Indigenous workers' strike in Australia. The industrial action began in the Pilbara on May Day, 1946, "when 800 workers walked off 27 stations"' (p.53).
'The performance work "Yandy" is adapted from the 1999 book Kangkushot: The Life of Nyamal Lawman Peter Coppin, a biography of an elder of the Yandeyarra community. The biography and play were written by journalist and speech-writer, Jolly Read, in collaboration with Coppin. Whereas Kangkushot begins with Coppin's birth at Yarrie Station by the De Grey River in 1920 and follows events of his life until around 1997, "Yandy" focuses on the story of a key group of people involved in organising the first Indigenous workers' strike in Australia. The industrial action began in the Pilbara on May Day, 1946, "when 800 workers walked off 27 stations"' (p.53).
