'Lies, Lies, Lies shouted the newspaper headlines following the Royal Commission decision into building the Hindmarsh Island Bridge. Doreen Kartinyeri, key Ngarrindjeri spokeswoman, was devastated. How could whitefella law fail to protect Aboriginal women's sites? Against a backdrop of abuse, threats and ill-health, Kartinyeri fought back. In 2001 the HREOC Inquiry vindicated the women...
Although poorly schooled in formal terms, Kartinyeri was a tenacious researcher. Her sharp memory allowed her to piece together histories and genealogies and she helped reunite members of the stolen generations.
Doreen Kartinyeri was a female warrior, dedicated to upholding and protecting Ngarrindjeri law. Here she reveals a deep-set desire for social justice, fuelled by passionate love and anger. Her wit and humour abound, while her integrity and sense of justice are inspirational.' Source: Publisher's blurb
'Doreen Kartinyeri, with the assistance of Sue Anderson, tells her story with such a strong presence of personal voice it almost seems like you are sitting with her — not reading her words but hearing them. It is that human voice and the very personal relating of the direct effect on Ngarrindjeri lives, of Australian politics and policies most Australians only know about from sensationalist headlines that draws the reader into Kartinyeri’s story. This story covers every experience a Ngarrindjeri woman can go through living on a mission under ‘The Act’,1 from her removal from family into an institution, to the recent Machiavellian drama that was the Hindmarsh Island bridge issue.' (Introduction)
'Doreen Kartinyeri, with the assistance of Sue Anderson, tells her story with such a strong presence of personal voice it almost seems like you are sitting with her — not reading her words but hearing them. It is that human voice and the very personal relating of the direct effect on Ngarrindjeri lives, of Australian politics and policies most Australians only know about from sensationalist headlines that draws the reader into Kartinyeri’s story. This story covers every experience a Ngarrindjeri woman can go through living on a mission under ‘The Act’,1 from her removal from family into an institution, to the recent Machiavellian drama that was the Hindmarsh Island bridge issue.' (Introduction)
