First Nations Telegraph
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Keeping Our Mob Connected
A new novel that exposes Australia’s inconvenient truth
[by Stephen Hagan]
Image: supplied
After complaining to family and friends about the perilous state of First Nations affairs over the past decade, I decided to tackle the existential political and social challenges that our mob experiences daily by writing a Young Adult novel.
My seventh published novel, Acacia: 6 Eyes on Yesterday, which I wrote over many years, is intended for an audience of future leaders.
It is a story that centres around three characters: Acacia, a multi-talented First Nations teenager whose parents are successful entrepreneurs; her non-Indigenous classmates, Allyson, the daughter of a politician, and Toby, the son of a football coach.
I thought the best way to convey the history of First Nations peoples was to present an unfiltered, sovereign owner’s perspective on how they existed with all things, on, above, and below their country, both before and after British contact.
The unique trek back in time, with mystical adventures into 1555, 1788, 1959, and 2025, allowed modern-day classmates to follow traditional owners for a period, eating their food, drinking their water, and appreciating their language, all while remaining invisible to the subjects of their focus.
With bearing witness to historical information not shared by their parents, teachers and people of influence they met, they ask questions like:
"Acacia, why weren't we taught about tall ships from our nearest neighbours sailing to and trading successfully with your mob 233 years before Captain Phillip's First Fleet was viewed on the horizon?" asked Allyson.
"Hey Acacia, was it the official Crown's position when quashing the 1835 Batman Treaty that if it were acknowledged that sovereign owners had the right to influence their land usage as they saw fit, then the Crown's claim to all Australian land would be in doubt?" Toby probed.
Another pivotal character in the book, Yurinya Wayanbirda, known to the teenage time travellers as Yuri, knew that her sanctioned treks into Yesterday had exposed the collision of mistruths and firsthand observations that juxtaposed their new reality.
You can pre-order Acacia: 6 Eyes on Yesterday, a 140,000+ word novel, published by InHouse Publishing, by visiting the link https://inhousebookstore.com.au/products/acacia-6-eyes-on-yesterday
For extra information on myself as the author and on other books I’ve published, visit www.stephenhaganauthor.com
Acacia: '6 Eyes on Yesterday' will be launched and available during NAIDOC Week.
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