Name the poem
My grandmother was a mining town child – /Kookynie where her father was foreman/ of the South Champion Mine
Grandmothers 1 - Kinsella
The broken minds
The broken bodies
The broken souls
The broken homes
The broken communities
Drug Slaves. Papertalk Green
Repetition
Earth’s silver grey hair
Undermining 2. Papertalk Green
The Indigenous Ancestors who are within the ageing earth.
The Earth is old and need to be protected.
What is Papertalk Green implying with the lines:
You don’t want me to talk about / Invasion of this land or a Treaty (Don't want me to talk)
Australian Indigenous voices are being silenced any time they attempt to discuss and acknowledge the fact the British invaded this ancient land claiming it as Terra Nullius. A treaty wasn't made upon colonisation and it is now viewed as being too late for this to happen
Who wrote the poem collection and why is it in this style?
Charmaine Papertalk Green (Indigenous woman) and John Kinsella (Indigenous ally
t is a deliberate collaboration in 'call and response style' symbolising the conversations that need to continue happening between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Yarning is a beautiful conversation
A time and space allowing
Laughs, tears, happiness, anger
Sadness, seriousness, joking
Or nothing but relaxation
Simply Yarning
This great lung,
this great mind,
this great flesh and blood
Personification of the Great Western Woodlands
Saving us on the great white canvas
Don't want me to talk. Papertalk Green
The 'great white canvas' is the Western Culture and Religion being painted over existing Indigenous Culture
some listen, more don't.
Prologue. Kinsella
Some of the scientists listen to the cultural significance of the land however Kinsela largely believes that environmental scientists their impact on the land and the voice it has
Who are the 'colonial thieves' in the title of the collection?
Post Colonial - The British who claimed the land as Terra Nullius. Settlers who followed
Present Colonialism - Mining Companies and those destroying Indigenous culture and everything it connects to. Australian Government
Bimara resting place of creator
Significant culture marker demoted tourism
Creation Markings – Ellendale Pool. Papertalk Green
Name the device in this quote:
The king brown does not die from its own poison – within its body, inert
Undermining 1. Kinsella
Metaphor. Much like Brown Snakes, which are the deadliest snake in Australia, the Earth cannot be harmed from the deadly material it holds - Uranium. It is only when it is mined or extracted and misused that the 'poison' in the form of atomic bombs, becomes deadly.
King Brown Snake = Earth
Snake poison = Uranium
Simply Yarning
Symbolic of the conversations that need to happen. By starting with a simple conversation the dialogue will be vastly different over time
It’s a shared true history – let’s heal
What is Papertalk Green alluding to when she states the following in 'Third Space'
Oh it’s scary alright Fluid, moving, unsure of what’s there But that’s the one space we can Find common ground
Papertalk Green is inviting and describing a space where the conversations may be scary, they will be unpredictable but this 'third space' is somewhere neither culture has the upper hand. It allows for both voices to be heard equally.
Onto our barna
A campsite – home
A place of living
A place of our ceremonies
Hawes - God's Intruder - 2. Papertalk Green
'most of the time you have your 'exotic pets'
Don't want me to talk - Papertalk Green
Double Entendre -
Colonisers treated the Indigenous Australians as no more than the species they introduced to Australia
Display of cars and motorbikes
Rings and gold chains around their necks
Not too flashy but flashy enough
Drug Slaves
Symbols of wealth and western culture infiltrating communities
'art vultures'
Don't want me to talk - Papertalk Green
metaphor. Creates an image of birds that feed off the dead. The implication is that Indigenous art, mass produced and sold for the benefit of tourists, has killed the cultural significance of storytelling through art creation.
What is Papertalk Green implying in the poem 'You don't want me to talk' with the lines:
You want me to nod, smile and listen to you/ And it doesn’t really matter if I don’t hear you/ You don’t want me to talk about/ How I have got a voice/ And you don’t listen
Papertalk Green implies that the Australian Government doesn't want to open or invite conversations of reconciliation with Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australian's are still viewed as not 'having a voice' when it comes to their own affairs and even when asked their opinions, no one listens. The Australian Government wants Indigenous Australians to agree with the decisions made on their behalf without any of their input.
We see a lone emu –
we see a lone roo –
we see a lone eagle –
we see a lone ant
making its way home
The Great Western Woodlands. Kinsella
It's a share true history- let's heal
Irony. The different parties have very different versions of 'true' history
Third Space
Title of the poem by Papertalk Green
The title 'Third space' symbolises a special place that isn’t just one thing or another. It’s somewhere in the middle, where Indigenous people can be themselves without being controlled by the rules of colonisers. It’s a place for new ideas, mixing cultures, and standing strong against unfair treatment.
a place of living / A place of our ceremonies
Hawes - God's intruder. Papertalk Green
When Papertalk Green declares that Mass Rock, built to spread Christianity in Mullewa, replaced “a place of living / A place of our ceremonies”, it highlights the appropriation of cultural ceremonial sites for white settler religious purpose.
Why was Wadjemup referred to as 'Rottness Island' by colonisers and what does this symbolise?
The dutch word for rats nest is 'Rottnest'. They originally thought the Quokkas were large rats. It also symbolises that when Indigenous men and boys were sent to the island prison they were treated like vermin.