Family – A Discussion with Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson

A couple of weeks ago we had the absolute joy of hosting Sue Lawson and Aunty Fay Muir to read their book Family published by Magabala Books. Sue and Aunty Fay had such a beautiful discussion about culture, language, family systems and connectedness to country that Lucky went through and edited the zoom recording to blur out the faces of all the kids so we could share this with you.

Aunty Fay is a Boon Wurrung Elder and was just so generous in sharing her expertise, while Sue was masterful in drawing on Aunty Fay’s knowledge. – these two excellent women could have their own pocast/tv show/radio show!

Throughout this year and the increased momentum of Bla(c)k Lives Matter, many First Nations Australians have shared their truth over and over again for non Indigenous folks to learn from, in the hope that change was finally here. Racism is a white person’s problem given we are the perpetrators. We form the structures that oppress and we benefit from systems that prop up racism – it is up to us to carry on the dialogue and to force the change in our families, with our neighbours.

If nothing else non-Indigenous Australians miss out on so much by not having First Nations history, culture and language at the forefront of all we do as Australians. The richness and history of our nation is so vast and we have absolutely no idea because institutional racism prevents us from connecting with the unceded land we live on and thus to the culture so entwined.

Please watch this and share widely, it is suitable for all ages and particularly for primary school classrooms. Due to copyright we have removed the actual reading of Family, but Aunty Fay will be reading Respect (the other book in the Our Place series) live as part of our Love Your Bookshop Day storytime at 9am on Saturday 3rd of October.

Check out your local library for Respect and Family or they are available to purchase directly through Magabala Books or via our website.