They explore how the aborigines actually came to be in Australia, their extraordinary rituals and ‘Dreamings’, and the importance of ‘kin’ to their social structures. A chapter is devoted to the aborigines’ often atrocious treatment at the hands of white settlers, and the pervasive racial prejudice that remained enshrined in the Australian constitution until 1967. The final section deals with the massive indigenous cultural renaissance over the past four decades, and discusses how Aboriginal art – be it Central Desert acrylic art, batik, contemporary urban painting, sculpture or traditional bark painting – has become a flagship for Australian culture.
Available in store and online.