Deep History: Country and Sovereignty (ed by Ann McGrath & Jackie Huggins, UNSW Press)
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty is a layered and collaborative work that challenges dominant narratives and asks whose voices are heard in telling history. Edited by Jackie Huggins, a Bidjara Elder of the Carnarvon Gorge area of Central Queensland, and historian Ann McGrath, the volume brings together First Nations and non-Indigenous contributors to explore how sovereignty is practised through walking, storytelling, language, food and care for Country. The book adopts a global perspective, drawing on Indigenous experiences from Aotearoa, the Pacific Islands, Hawai’i and Finland. Huggins sets the tone in the opening chapter, reflecting on her mother’s relationship to Country: ‘She would walk around, she would feel the earth, and she would kiss the ground upon which she knew our people had been for tens and tens of thousands of years.’ This emphasis on lived, embodied knowledge recurs throughout the essays in the book, which consistently privilege community authority over institutional frameworks. Highlights include Beth Marsden’s analysis of school curriculum to interrogate how language around Indigenous culture and history has furthered a colonial agenda, Grace Fletcher’s exploration of Water Country and Bhaveeka Madagammana’s study of Kai Māori foodscapes. The book presents Deep History as fluid, overriding linear timelines and encompassing different takes on history-telling, gesturing towards multitemporal histories enacted in place. While academic at times, Deep History remains grounded in lived experience and diverse perspectives. For readers of Everywhen: Australia and the Language of Deep History, or anyone interested in extending their understanding of First Nations histories, this landmark work is essential and fiercely relevant.
Books+Publishing reviewer: Eman Mourad is an Australian-Egyptian emerging writer based on Gadigal land. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.
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Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews
