This All Come Back Now

Introductory activities

Sensitivity warning

Discussing racism, LGBTQIA+ experiences, and identity issues may bring up sensitive matters for students in your class. If appropriate, consider having a school youth worker (or someone in a similar role) partake in some of these introductory lessons. Remind students of the services they can access, both at school and in the wider community, if these topics bring up anything for them. You might display a poster with this information in the classroom while you study this unit. Offer debriefing opportunities (e.g. a lunch break when you are available) and allow students time to reflect in a journal, which they can keep privately or share with you as they see fit. For more guidance, see Vana Watkins’ Safely In and Safely Out Protocols for The Drover’s Wife* (under Initial Response > Introductory Activities > Content Notes).

* Reading Australia title

Be aware that this anthology contains mature language and themes, including some violence and sexual references. Discretion is advised when selecting stories for individual study.

Terminology

The general preference when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is to use the term ‘First Nations’. Many prefer this due to its reassertion of being first to inhabit this land, as well as its reference to the many diverse nations (or Countries or language groups) that make up Australia. In recent years, it has become popular to use the term ‘First Nations’ rather than ‘Indigenous’ due to some feeling that the latter is too homogenising, throwing many diverse people under one limiting label. On the other hand, many First Nations people – including this unit writer – are comfortable with the terms ‘Indigenous’, ‘Aboriginal’, and ‘Torres Strait Islander’. These terms are still found in the titles of many First Nations organisations and academic theories. For this reason, you may see these terms used in context throughout this unit.

Imagining futures, re-presenting histories

Introduce the idea that speculative fiction, by its very name, allows us to speculate or wonder about what might have been or what could be. Show students this video on the benefits of reading spec fic. You may wish to provide a glossary of terms to accompany the viewing, such as:

If you haven’t already done so, read the video description (from ‘It’s often hard’ to ‘and hope’). Discuss/summarise the idea that spec fic provides a way of exploring ideas and challenging problems in our past and present.

American writer, producer, and Twilight Zone (1959–1964) creator Rod Serling famously used sci-fi as a vehicle for social and political commentary. He worked as a screenwriter during the 1950s, a period defined by McCarthyism and Cold War tensions and characterised by heightened paranoia and conservatism. Serling believed that writers should be ‘menacer[s] of the public’s conscience’ (see this 2019 Smithsonian article) and found that, if he framed his work as fable or fantasy, he could get away with ‘saying things Democrats and Republicans could never say’ (see this 2003 PBS article).

Provide students with a brainstorm template (PDF, 43KB). You can use different or larger shapes as long as they are all still touching. Invite students to work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm things they would change about the past and present, and things they would include in an ideal future. They can think about their school, local community, Australia, and/or the world – however small or big they want to go. Either invite the groups to share their ideas as you summarise on an enlarged template, or go around the room and collect a few answers while they are working. Once you have collated the responses, discuss:

• What fears or hopes are evident?
• Is there any social/political commentary here?
• Can we get a sense of the class’s values/morals from these responses?
• Which circle is the fullest? Is it easier to imagine the future than rewrite the past? Is it difficult to see the past from a different perspective? Is it easy or hard to see what we’d like to change in the present?
• Are there links between the past, present, and future? How are they linked or connected? Would a change in one sphere impact/change/challenge/present a different view in another sphere?
• Is it important that the circles are connected? What is the visual message? Should they overlap? Can something exist in more than one space at a time?

For a lightning writing exercise, allow students to choose an idea from the brainstorm and write their own short piece of spec fic. This should be done in class, with no set criteria, and can be used as a formative piece to evaluate creative writing skills. Keep the brainstorms for future reference. You can repeat this activity throughout the unit so that students develop a few story ideas for their final Rich Assessment Task (see Informed Reaction).

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Connection to Country and the Dreaming

The blurb on the back cover of This All Come Back Now, edited by Koori/Goori and Lebanese writer Mykaela Saunders, describes the anthology as ‘a love letter to kin and country’. It imagines futures that build on the ancient history and wisdom of First Nations cultures to right the wrongs of Australia’s recent history of colonisation. It reminds us that people and the environment are interconnected and that we have to take better care of each other.

An example of ancient wisdom that has been passed down for generations to maintain a connection to Country can be found at Madjedbebe, a sandstone rock shelter in western Arnhem Land. In 2017, archaeologists uncovered evidence that confirmed the sacredness and significance of this site for the Mirarr, the Traditional Owners of lands in the Northern Territory. This included:

• The oldest ground-edge stone axe technology in the world and the oldest seed-grinding tools in Australia, demonstrating occupation from 65,000 years ago (Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, University of Queensland)
• Evidence of fireplaces, ochre ‘crayons’, and the world’s oldest-known use of reflective minerals such as mica (ABC News, The Conversation)
• Evidence of plants and cooking techniques that are still being used today (Australian Geographic)

For more on connection to Country, see ‘What is Country?’ and ‘Connection to Animals and Country’ on the Common Ground website. AIATSIS, Reconciliation Australia, and Evolve Communities may be useful here too.

The Dreaming provides the stories, songs, dances, lores, and customs that are passed down to uphold the aforementioned knowledge and connection to Country. It does not refer to a fixed point in time, such as creation, but rather encompasses the past, present, and future simultaneously (‘everywhen’). Many First Nations people believe that the past operates in the present and extends into the future. It is this continuous connection that has helped keep knowledge alive for more than 65,000 years (e.g. how to use a certain plant), adapting to the modern day as it travels through time.

As a class:

• Consider the earlier brainstorm about past, present, and future. In what ways were the ideas from the brainstorm interconnected?
• Consider the concepts of Country and connection to Country; how the landscape, plants, and animals survived for more than 65,000 years of human occupation; and the deep history and knowledge required to look after Country.

An excursion to a local natural resource with an Indigenous ranger or cultural educator, and some creative writing in response to this experience, could strengthen students’ understanding of connection to Country and the Dreaming. You can also explore the NSW Department of Education’s creative digital writing program, Everyone’s an Author, with a video and workbook on poetry and place featuring Gunai artist, writer, and consultant Kirli Saunders.

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Australian history and First Nations speculative fiction

Have students work in six groups to summarise the following sections of the Working with Indigenous Australians website:

1. Colonisation
2. Protection
3. Assimilation
4. Integration
5. Reconciliation
6. Torres Strait Islander perspectives (Early History and/or Coming of the Light)

Students can share their summaries in a class discussion, or they can create infographics for a gallery walk. Encourage them to reflect on the research – was there anything new or interesting that they didn’t know about? Does the website make it clearer that, although settler history is recent, it has had wide-reaching impacts?

Read the section of Saunders’ introduction (‘Overture’) that runs from the second-last paragraph on p. 8 to the third paragraph on p. 10. Discuss:

• Given what you have just learned from your research, why do you think Saunders describes histories of Australia’s invasion and colonisation as ‘apocalyptic’?
• What are some cultural beliefs that Saunders thinks of as sitting within the sci-fi genre? Why is it problematic to think of these as fiction?
  • Wuilli Wuilli, Gooreng Gooreng, and Wakka Wakka woman Lisa Fuller (author of Ghost Bird*) has written about this topic for Kill Your Darlings.
• How does Saunders present spec fic as a tool for First Nations writers? What is her commentary on climate fiction?

* Reading Australia title

For further discussion, students can read this 2014 KYD article by Palyku writer Ambelin Kwaymullina, particularly para. 8 and 11.

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First Nations storytelling

Introduce the concept of a yarning circle as a traditional mode of storytelling. Model a yarning circle about First Nations storytelling (PDF, 79KB), then view and discuss this 2017 TEDxAdelaide talk by Adnyamathanha and Ngarrindjeri woman Jacinta Koolmatrie. In her talk, Koolmatrie discusses the Australian continent’s 65,000-year history, oral storytelling traditions, and stories as a real and important part of preserving culture and ensuring the survival of peoples and lands.

This talk builds on the ideas in Saunders’ ‘Overture’, illustrating that First Nations storytelling does not fit neatly into Western genres and has its own purposes and definitions. Refer to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) for more information about different types of stories, their cultural contexts, and the mediums in which they have been told.

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Personal response on reading the text

Reading reflections

Before reading This All Come Back Now, have students set up a double-entry journal in their notebooks (by dividing a page in half) or electronically (by creating a two-column table). As they read, they will record key events and quotes in the left-hand column. They can then record questions, thoughts, personal responses, connections to their own experiences, and other ways they identified with characters or situations in the right-hand column. Guide students to look specifically for quotes and events that reflect the themes of the anthology (see Outline of Key Elements of the Text below).

As you progress through this unit, allow time in class for students to add to their journals. You may wish to start them off with a selection of key quotes and reflection prompts (where appropriate) to model the process. For example:

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Discussion points

Using their double-entry journals, students can compose short responses to the following questions in preparation for analytical writing tasks later in the unit.

• In what ways do the following elements of speculative fiction appear in this collection?
  • Post-apocalyptic
  • Dystopian
  • Fantasy
  • Science fiction
  • Alternate history
• Consider how connection to Country is expressed in at least two stories from the collection (e.g. ‘Myth This!’ by Lisa Fuller, pp. 73–92; ‘Terranora’ by Mykaela Saunders, pp. 247–266). Explain and use quotations to illustrate your point.
• Discuss any examples of circular or non-linear storytelling, or elements of ‘the Dreaming’ such as past, present, and future co-existing (e.g. ‘Nimeybirra’ by Laniyuk, pp. 207–220).

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Outline of key elements of the text

In her ‘Overture’, Saunders explains that the stories in This All Come Back Now have been arranged so that each is ‘in conversation with its neighbours’ (p. 15). Have students work in pairs to read the following stories and discuss the ‘conversation’ between them. Do they add to our understanding of a certain theme? Do they contradict or complement one another?

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Saunders describes the following themes in the collection (p. 14):

• Family
• Old People (Elders) and ancestors
• Government intervention in First Nations people’s lives
• Corporate greed
• Destruction of land and water
• Technology
• Language
• Law
• Ghosts and hauntings
• Belonging
• Alienation
• Reclamation of sovereignty
• Timelessness of cultures and traditions (such that they can be revived and relearned in the process of de-colonisation)

Ask students how they would group these themes, considering those that they believe are similar or connected. Challenge them to think beyond Western European definitions, and to think about interconnected ideas:

• Is belonging connected to sovereignty, or family, or both?
• Is language connected to culture and tradition?
• Are ghosts and hauntings connected to family, or culture, or law?

A scaffold such as a Venn diagram (with two or three circles, as needed) could be useful here. Students could try placing the themes in different circles to see which ones have a common link. Encourage them to discuss and debate in small groups and move the themes around. Writing the themes on laminated strips or sticky notes will aid this activity.

Once they have grouped the themes, students can work in groups to identify the stories that they think illustrate particular themes. They should select key quotes to add to a class quote bank.

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Synthesising task

Students will practise writing a paragraph for an analytical essay that discusses a theme from This All Come Back Now. They should begin with a thesis statement about their chosen theme; introduce a short story that illustrates the theme; include a key quote from that story; and summarise how it illustrates the theme, referring back to the thesis statement in the concluding sentence.

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The writer’s craft

In this section of the unit, certain stories have been highlighted for their demonstration of a particular writing technique. This is not to say that other stories do not also demonstrate the technique, merely that those listed are striking examples. You can decide which stories to focus on, and may complete as many or as few of the suggested activities as you wish.

Structure

‘Nimeybirra’ by Laniyuk (pp. 207–220)

NOTE: This story contains mature language.

Laniyuk is a Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji, and French writer and performer. Her short story ‘Nimeybirra’ is described in Saunders’ ‘Overture’ as ‘a trans-generational meta-story told in the epistolary form’ and a unique exploration of ‘trans-Tasman First Nations solidarity’ (p. 18). The word ‘nimeybirra’ is Larrakia for ‘children’. Laniyuk’s short story explores the presences of family across temporal zones, looking to the future before returning to the present, always with the past in their stories and memories.

Epistolary fiction is a term for literary works made up of letters, news clippings, diary entries and the like. The story of ‘Nimeybirra’ is told through a series of letters between family members. Each letter is titled according to the sender’s name (e.g. ‘Delengwa’ on p. 209), and dated according to both the Gregorian calendar year and the Larrakia season (e.g. ‘Dalay 2110’ on p. 213).

Activities and discussion points

• Look at the AIATSIS and/or Gambay maps and locate Larrakia, Kungarakan, and Gurindji Countries.
• The Gurindji people are perhaps most well-known for the Wave Hill walk-off, which culminated in the Gurindji land ‘handback’ (commemorated in Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s song ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’) and the start of the Aboriginal land rights movement. Explore this history with students. The notion that Aboriginal people did not fight colonisers, and did not have ownership of or demonstrate care for the land (terra nullius), is clearly a fiction designed to justify or downplay the impacts of colonisation. The Gurindji example is a great backdrop for ‘Nimeybirra’ given its themes of resistance, fighting for rights, and fighting to regain ownership of Country. Have students re-read the story with this history in mind. Consider how resistance has become part of Aboriginal people’s very beings, and indeed a way of life for Indigenous peoples everywhere.
• Return to the ‘Overture’, where Saunders describes contemporary Australia as ‘post-apocalyptic and not yet post-colonial’ (p. 9). Are students gaining a better understanding of the post-apocalyptic reality in which Indigenous peoples find themselves? Some might even challenge the word ‘post-apocalyptic’ – if we are ‘not yet post-colonial’, perhaps we are also not yet post-apocalyptic.
• What statement is Laniyuk making by using both the Gregorian calendar and the Larrakia seasons in her story? Why do you think they are used to date the letters from the future, while the final letter from the present is dated ‘April 2021’?
• Map the progress of Indigenous peoples and their relationships with ‘the colonies’ over the course of the story (from 2086 to 2157). Are these realistic speculations about a future world? Why or why not? What would be good or bad about this situation?
• Can you develop a family tree or visual representation of how the people named in the letters might be related or connected? Hint: the senders are most likely to be direct descendants of one another.
• Compare Laniyuk’s imagined future with her final letter from 2021. What statements is she making about colonial forces and their impact on people and place? What is the impact on Country?

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Approach to characterisation

‘Your Own Aborigine’ by Adam Thompson (pp. 133–144)

NOTE: This story contains mature language. ‘Myth This!’ by Lisa Fuller (pp. 73–92) is another story with accessible characters with whom many families will be able to identify.

Adam Thompson’s satire ‘Your Own Aborigine’ offers an array of characters to analyse through the lens of power and exploitation in interracial relationships. The story also appears in a collection called Born Into This in which Thompson, a Pakana (Tasmanian Aboriginal) writer, explores the complexities of Aboriginal identity in the unique context of Lutruwita/Tasmania.

NOTE: Beyond the title of this story, the term ‘Aborigine’ should not be used when referring to Aboriginal peoples.

Activities and discussion points

• Research Tasmanian Aboriginal history and culture. Place students in groups and assign some of the following sources to read, summarise, and then share with the class. You may need to direct students’ research or provide guiding questions as the sources cover a range of topics:
  • National Museum of Australia – The Black Line
  • SBS On Demand – The Australian Wars: Season 1 Episode 2
  • The Orb – Learning Resources
  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery – ningina tunapri
  • The Companion to Tasmanian History – Frontier Conflict
• Thinking about this research, what is problematic about the new ‘Sponsorship Bill’ in Thompson’s story? Why might it be seen as a good scheme by some and not others?
• Discuss the different characters in Thompson’s story, including their personalities, mannerisms, and approach to the news. Whose voices and perspectives are missing?
• Do students agree or identify with any of the characters?
• What are students’ responses to the ‘Sponsorship Bill’ in the story?
• To what extent do Thompson’s characters represent authentic Australian community members and their expected responses to a scheme like the ‘Sponsorship Bill’?
• Does it seem realistic that the Australian Government would bring in such a scheme? In her ‘Overture’, Saunders reminds us that past governments have attempted to repeal Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act (p. 17). Does this knowledge change students’ opinions at all?
• You may wish to extend students’ awareness of government control, ‘protection’, and intervention in Aboriginal people’s lives using the examples of the now-abolished cashless debit card, and the mandatory BasicsCard still operating in the Northern Territory.

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Setting

‘Muyum, a Transgression’ by Evelyn Araluen (pp. 23–34)

‘Muyum, a Transgression’ (pronounced ‘moy-um’) first appeared in Overland as the Nakata Brophy Prize-winning entry by Goorie and Koori poet, editor, and researcher Evelyn Araluen. Saunders describes this haunting story as ‘Aboriginal gothic’ (p. 15). It presents a lament about the destruction of people and Country due to colonisation. Unlike regular gothic, the ‘horror’ is not embodied as a malevolent creature of the land, but rather is in the memory of what has been done to the land.

‘Muyum, a Transgression’ is set between worlds where a panther stalks and death birds flutter. The jirrajirra or willie wagtail (also known as ‘Jingeri Jingeri’ in Yugambeh and ‘Djirri Djirri’ in Woiwurrung) plays an important role in this setting; it is known in many Aboriginal cultures as a messenger and in some groups is explicitly associated with death. There are other key elements of the setting that act as motifs or recurring symbolic images in the story. For example:

Activities and discussion points

Listen to Araluen’s 2017 Awaye! interview about ‘Muyum, a Transgression’. Discuss the following:

• Why are birds a special symbol and point of connection between the spiritual and physical worlds (06:09–07:17)?
• Araluen talks about subverting English linguistic structures and her hope that this will connect with Aboriginal readers (from 07:21). She also discusses writing about special animals and places that are infused with Indigenous spirituality, as opposed to English landscape poems that define the land and animals in a limited or two-dimensional way (up to 09:44).
• Araluen says that the panther in the story is a ‘crucial symbol of difference and displacement’ (13:24). She imagines that he was brought to Australia by colonisers, who removed his teeth in order to keep him as an exotic pet. Araluen grew up hearing urban legends about panthers (12:40–14:31). These stories emphasised class differences between people living in the Blue Mountains and those living in its foothills, in places like Penrith. Discuss the use of the panther as a character in ‘Muyum, a Transgression’. What is his role? Does he preserve or destroy colonial structures? Is he to be feared, pitied, or admired? Is the panther also an element of the story’s setting that acts as a motif?
• Why do you think Araluen chose to read aloud from pp. 30–31? Is this a pivotal section or turning point in the story? In what way?

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Point of view

‘Water’ by Ellen van Neerven (pp. 221–246)

NOTE: This story contains mature language and sexual references.

‘Water’ is an abridged version of a novella from Heat and Light*, a collection by Mununjali Yugambeh and Dutch writer Ellen van Neerven. It is narrated in the first person by Kaden, an Aboriginal woman working as a mediator between the Australian Government and a species known as plantpeople. In ‘Water’, the government is embarking on a project to ‘islandise’ a new nation called Australia2. This involves the displacement of the plantpeople from their island home. Kaden is hired to assist with this colonial project.

* Reading Australia title

Activities and discussion points

• Would ‘Water’ have been more powerful if it was told from Larapinta’s point of view? In what ways? Can you see any parallels with the way Australian literature written by European settlers may obscure the Aboriginal point of view, further dispossessing this group of a voice?
• Would ‘Water’ have the same impact if it was written in the third person?
• Read Saunders’ summary on p. 18 (or see Reading Australia’s teaching resource for Heat and Light) to learn more about the context of ‘Water’. In what ways is the government’s plan to move Indigenous people to a new island misguided? Does it show any understanding of connection to Country?
• In what ways does the treatment and general attitude toward the plantpeople emulate and perpetuate colonial treatment of Aboriginal people?
• What does Larapinta represent? Think about her statements on p. 245: ‘I was made to adapt’, ‘I am renewal’.

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Language and style

‘Myth This!’ by Lisa Fuller (pp. 73–92)

NOTE: This story contains mature language.

This ‘bush horror story’ (p. 61) challenges the notion that Aboriginal stories are fictional myths and legends, as discussed in Jacinta Koolmatrie’s TED talk (see Initial Response > Introductory Activities > Australian History and First Nations Speculative Fiction > First Nations Storytelling).

Activities and discussion points

• Discuss the ways in which Lisa Fuller builds suspense throughout ‘Myth This!’. Consider common writing techniques such as:
  • Withholding information or revealing facts slowly over time, creating uncertainty
  • Foreshadowing that something is about to happen to create a sense of foreboding
  • Presenting characters with a challenge in a high-pressure situation, with an element of risk and urgency/time constraint
  • Using detailed descriptive language to create atmosphere and make the setting itself a character
• Have students collect key quotes and map the points at which suspense builds in the story.
• Strong characterisation helps the reader to empathise with and care for the characters, in turn intensifying the suspense. Discuss Dina’s children: moody tween Alira, curious peacemaker Brianna, and cautious youngster Tommy. In what ways do we relate to and worry for them?
• Di, whose family descends from the local area, is able to placate the being by apologising and showing her respect for Country. Discuss how this interaction – combined with the comments about fable, myth, and legend (p. 86) – demonstrates two different approaches and relationships to the land: one grounded in respect for place and taboo, and one that dismisses cultural knowledge in favour of ownership and mastery.
• Di unintentionally disrupts the transmission of culture by withholding or ‘watering down’ stories that may scare her children. What is the consequence of this decision? Do Di and her family learn an important lesson about preserving and passing on culture and stories as they are intended? What of the consequences for the white people who did not heed the warnings?

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Text and meaning

Authorial intent

Saunders wanted to put First Nations speculative fiction on the map with this world-first anthology. At the same time, she was keen to challenge ‘prescriptive spec fic protocols’ and publish writers who were not afraid to extend, subvert, collapse, or completely discard ‘accepted genre conventions’ (p. 10). Most importantly, she sought work that would ‘centre and celebrate’ First Nations peoples and experiences: as she puts it, work ‘written by us’, ‘for us’, and ‘about us’ (p. 11).

We have seen how Laniyuk plays with time and the Larrakia seasons; how Araluen writes an Aboriginal gothic; how Thompson creates a distinctive Aboriginal satire; and how Fuller challenges the concept of Aboriginal ‘myths’.

• To what extent does This All Come Back Now seem to write to and for First Nations readers? In what ways is it giving strength, power, and hope to these readers?
• What is the effect of the writers in this anthology subverting conventional genres and English writing styles?
• What can non-Indigenous readers learn or understand more about from this anthology? What are some key messages that will stand out to all readers?

In her 2014 KYD article, Ambelin Kwaymullina concludes that – as well as reclaiming fiction as a space for First Nations voices, and correcting depictions of Indigenous peoples of the past – she ultimately writes to imagine a better world. Read the second-last paragraph of this article as a class and discuss:

• Is This All Come Back Now a hopeful anthology? Explain how, and in what ways.
• The futures imagined in this collection are not all positive. What is their impact on readers?

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Synthesising task

Turn to p. 271 of ‘The Purple Plains’ by Archie Weller (pp. 267–292) and read the sentence in para. 3 about good storytelling.

Invite students to respond to one story in This All Come Back Now that leaves them ‘chewing over’ an idea. They will do this by writing their own short poem or flash fiction. Make it clear that students will not be emulating, writing in the style of, or assuming the voice of any of the First Nations writers or their characters, but rather responding with their own questions or comments about an idea that has grabbed them.

Students may:

• Imagine the backstory of a world presented in one of the stories, or imagine how an unfinished story ends
• Write to a character in one of the stories
• Take an interesting comment or idea from a story and explore that tangent

They can experiment with the same language features, text structures, and literary devices as the writers in the anthology, but should aim to develop their own original voice and characterisation.

Make students aware that their work will be shared in class (de-identified) as part of the final Rich Assessment Task in this unit (in the Informed Reaction section). Encourage them to play with genre and weave their own identity (or other perspective) into their piece as the contributors to This All Come Back Now have done.

Students can revisit their double-entry journals for ideas (see Initial Response > Personal Response on Reading the Text > Reading Reflections). You may also conduct a class brainstorm on select stories that may lend themselves to this task. These include:

• ‘Terranora’ by Mykaela Saunders (pp. 247–266)
• ‘When From’ by Merryana Salem (pp. 171–182)
• ‘The Kadaitcha Sung’ by Samuel William Watson (pp. 101–116)
• ‘An Invitation’ by Timmah Ball (pp. 193–206)
• ‘The Centre’ by Alison Whittaker (pp. 183–192)
• ‘Closing Time’ by Samuel Wagan Watson (pp. 45–56)
• ‘Muyum, a Transgression’ by Evelyn Araluen (pp. 23–34)

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Ways of reading the text

Queer Indigenous theory

NOTE: Refer to the Sensitivity Warning at the beginning of this unit (see Initial Response > Introductory Activities) before approaching discussions of queer theory and identity.

Alison Whittaker, Laniyuk, Ellen van Neerven, and Mykaela Saunders (among others) belong to a growing body of Indigenous queer and gender-diverse artists discussing the role of the arts in decolonisation and de-marginalisation processes. Scholar and community organiser Han Reardon-Smith discusses how storytelling is used to examine and assert a ‘wholeness’ of identity and perspective, where neither Indigeneity nor queerness needs to be managed, hidden, amplified, or examined from the standpoint of the white heteronormative and colonial gaze. In this 2023 journal article, they refer to Saunders’ suggestion that queer Indigenous writers are participating in a kind of ‘worldbuilding’, imagining worlds in which their multiple marginalised identities, voices, and stories are not othered.

Crucially, Reardon-Smith realises their position as a non-Indigenous reader:

The texts I am approaching here by queer First Nations writers are importantly not for me – they are not written with my white colonial-settler gaze in mind, nor are they in the slightest meant to teach me how to ‘be’ an ‘ally’ or to reduce my complicity in the colonial-settler state as an Australian citizen (Land, 2015, pp. 229–247).

– Reardon-Smith, H. (2023). Reclaiming the Landbodymind Erotic. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 7(2), 1–11. Republished under a Creative Commons licence.

In 2015, Dutch author Corinne Duyvis coined the term #OwnVoices to celebrate texts written by and about people with marginalised or diverse identities, based on authentic lived experience (see Duyvis’ 2016 interview on this topic). Publishers are increasingly recognising that books need to represent the diversity of our society, and that #OwnVoices literature needs to be published so that marginalised groups can finally see themselves represented in popular culture.

NOTE: See Reading Australia’s teaching resource for The Boy from the Mish* by Gary Lonesborough for further discussion of the #OwnVoices label (under Close Study > The Writer’s Craft > Voice).

* Reading Australia title

In this 2016 Archer article, Gomeroi poet and legal researcher Alison Whittaker outlines assumptions by non-Indigenous people that queerness is somehow antithetical to Indigeneity, and that being queer may place one at odds with their culture and community. Whittaker dismisses these ideas as extensions of settler-colonial thinking, citing evidence that Indigenous cultures have long had ways to include and position queer and gender-diverse people within kinship and relational systems. She discusses the limited viewpoint of the colonial gaze and the persistent view of Indigenous people as ‘primitive’ or ‘backwards’, leading to what was previously a settler-colonial heteronormative homophobia being assigned to Indigenous cultures in a conveniently amnesiac moment.

Whittaker and van Neerven (in ‘The Only Blak Queer in the World’ from their collection Throat) explore the challenging realisation that, at times, they may have internalised settler assumptions about the intersection and compatibility of their identities, as they grew up wrestling with how to express themselves to their families and communities. Reardon-Smith suggests that a contributing factor may be the (recent) historical need to play down queerness among Indigenous communities to avoid further gratuitous sexualisation by the white colonial gaze:

Subject to dehumanising hypersexualisation, Indigenous and Black peoples have frequently been forced to adopt chaste conformity to the genital-defined binary gender categories and heterosexual relational ideals set by colonial white and Christian authorities in order to survive under colonial settlerism.

– Reardon-Smith, H. (2023). Reclaiming the Landbodymind Erotic. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 7(2), 1–11. Republished under a Creative Commons licence.

Discussion points

• As mentioned in the Close Study section (under Text and Meaning > Authorial Intent), This All Come Back Now was written for First Nations readers and writers to share and celebrate their voices and perspectives. It was specifically not written for the white colonial gaze or to teach white Australia a lesson – or, as Reardon-Smith says, how to be allies. The stories centre around self-determination and reclaiming both ownership and representation of identities. How, then, should non-Indigenous and non-queer readers engage with these texts? Is there value to be gained from reading and understanding these voices and perspectives?
• The referenced writers have suggested that homophobia and marginalisation of queer and gender-diverse people are particularly colonial, white, Christian worldviews that have been imposed on Indigenous communities. Does this challenge any assumptions you may have had about the place of queerness in Indigenous communities, or in human behaviour over millennia?
• What is the power of speculative fiction for ‘worldbuilding’ and creating worlds in which marginalised groups are centred and no longer othered? Consider what other marginalised groups may benefit from this (re)writing of their place in society. In what ways, then, can speculative fiction be considered distinctly political?

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Climate fiction

Climate fiction or cli-fi is a growing body of literature dealing with the effects of climate change and environmental destruction. It is often dystopian or speculative in nature, with authors imagining future possibilities, solutions, or adaptations for societies living through or after an ecological disaster. Many cli-fi authors, such as those in the Climate Fiction Writers League, see themselves as activists. American author Alison Stine has described it as an opportunity to ‘do something important’ by highlighting an emergency that impacts ‘every creature on the planet’. In this 2021 interview, she outlines some of the ‘very real and looming’ issues in her own and other cli-fi texts. These include the environmental crisis itself, but also individual and community responses, matters of relocation or displacement, and the struggle to hang onto hope. For Stine, it is less important to be didactic than it is to write an authentic story. She argues that cli-fi should come from a place of genuine need or urgency: in her words, ‘a calling you simply can’t ignore’.

Discussion points

• Consider which stories in This All Come Back Now may fall into the cli-fi genre. Discuss why.
• Remember that Saunders introduces the collection as being for and by First Nations readers and writers, and not concerned with the genre conventions of dominant settler-colonial literary constructs (see Close Study > Text and Meaning > Authorial Intent). Is cli-fi yet another settler-colonial construct being applied to this anthology? Considering what we know about the Dreaming and First Nations storytelling, stories connected with Country, the land, and nature may not be seen as fictional at all.
• How might cli-fi enable First Nations storytellers to address, mourn, and consider solutions for the destruction of the land at the hands of colonisers? Is it, for example, a site for re-asserting First Nations knowledges about caring for Country?

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Comparison with other texts

Students can explore the genre of First Nations speculative fiction starting with Ambelin Kwaymullina’s essays:

• Kill Your Darlings – Edges, Centres and Futures
• Mother of Invention – Reflecting on Indigenous Worlds, Indigenous Futurisms and Artificial Intelligence

They can then read and compare some speculative fiction texts by First Nations authors (e.g. The Tribe trilogy, also by Kwaymullina). The State Library of Queensland’s Sovereign Stories resource contains a list of novels and comparison texts under the heading ‘A note about First Nations writers in speculative fiction’. Another option is Unlimited Futures ed. Rafeif Ismail and Ellen van Neerven. This is a similar anthology of Blak (First Nations) and Afro-Black speculative fiction, with teaching notes available from Fremantle Press.

Other texts that could be used for comparative analysis include:

* Reading Australia title

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Rich assessment task 1

‘An Invitation’ by Ballardong Noongar writer and researcher Timmah Ball (pp. 193–206) offers an opportunity for an analytical response to a range of topical issues. Students can address one of the following questions using Ball’s story as a stimulus, incorporating additional research and/or references to other texts from This All Come Back Now or the list above.

• In what ways does ‘An Invitation’ highlight the incongruities and hypocrisies that queer and gender-diverse people encounter in our community, satirising the language around ‘respect’ and ‘inclusion’ in Nell’s workplace (e.g. ‘rainbow accreditation’, p. 204)?
• In what ways is the ‘Blak knowledge economy’ in ‘An Invitation’ (p. 204) both a recognition of Indigenous ways of knowing and a symbol of many organisations’ tokenism when it comes to inclusivity?
• Timmah Ball illustrates how the built environment and land destruction impacts human health, making the point that this apparent ‘progress’ is in fact regression or deterioration. Discuss.

Students will compose their analytical response as a feature article in the style of The Guardian. The article must:

• Be 800–1,000 words in length
• Cite critical sources and use appropriate referencing conventions

Alternative task

Thinking about how Indigenous knowledges can address climate crises and improve health outcomes, view some of the short films from the UN University’s ‘Indigenous voices on climate change’ collection. There are examples from First Nations people across the world. Compare these with the messages in ‘An Invitation’. Write a feature article about how truly listening to and implementing Indigenous knowledges could improve the health of the planet and its inhabitants, with reference to both Timmah Ball’s short story and at least three of the short films.

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Synthesising core ideas

Students will work in pairs to read and respond to each other’s feature articles (see Significance > Rich Assessment Task 1). Use the text annotation strategy from Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope:

Each student will share and discuss their annotations with their partner. They could also (or alternatively) annotate their paragraphs from the first Synthesising Task of this unit (in the Initial Response section).

Students will then return to their double-entry journals (see Initial Response > Personal Response on Reading the Text > Reading Reflections) and reflect on how their thinking may have evolved or expanded over the course of the unit. Considering this together with the annotations they have just completed, they should compose a final journal entry summarising their learning and thinking about First Nations cultures and experiences of the world; diversity; LGBTQIA+ perspectives; and the role of #OwnVoices in literature.

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Rich assessment task 2

Students are to curate a mini anthology of pieces written for the second Synthesising Task of this unit (in the Close Study section).

Facilitate a blind reading of students’ work, ensuring that each piece has been de-identified. Afterwards, have each student:

• Come up with a title for their anthology
• Select a Creative Commons image (or create their own) for the front cover
  • Most images from websites like Pexels, Unsplash, Openverse, and Pixabay can be used freely
• Arrange a contents page
• Write an introduction
• Write an afterword or author’s note

For the contents page, students should:

• Select four to five of their peers’ pieces in addition to their own
• Decide the order in which the pieces should appear and arrange them accordingly

NOTE: Students do not actually need to publish their peers’ writing; they can just include the titles as part of the contents page.

For the introduction, students should:

• Introduce the pieces and explain why they are important/significant
• Explain how/why they decided which pieces to include and in what order to arrange them

Finally, students will write an afterword or author’s note in which they:

• Reflect on the experience of editing an anthology
• Reflect on the experience of writing their own piece and the introduction

Alternative task

If you feel that there is not enough safety in your class or school context for the above to succeed, you could instead have students prepare and deliver a TED talk-style presentation on the following question:

What kind of future do we want?

Students may draw on the themes of This All Come Back Now, as well as ideas discussed as part of their earlier annotations (under Synthesising Core Ideas).

This task could be differentiated for students who are not able to deliver the talk in class by allowing them to film themselves or record a voiceover for a slideshow.

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