Bunarung Author Bruce Pascoe humbly accepted the Australia Council Awards 2018 for Lifetime Achievement in Literature for his contribution to cultural vibrancy in Australia.
His first words in this interview with NITV Radio was "I wish my Mother was alive."
"The really pleasing thing for me like a lot of Aboriginal people, I missed out on my culture and the only way of finding my way back was to write about it because it was the only skill I had."
Bruce Pascoe has been writing literature for fifty years and deserves the accreditation for his excellence in challenging the misconception of First Nations identity and connection, writing novels that have changed the course of history.
He told NITV Radio that his next novel is looking at male violence and war.
For the full story listen to the NITV Radio podcast.
Bruce Pascoe's publications are a source of reference in education and truth telling of homeland wars and assimilation policies that were not taught historically in schools in Australia.
His works include Dark Emu- Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident, the Convincing Ground and a swag of outstanding books of literature for children and young adults that have been awarded prizes for their excellence and character.
The Bunarung author and historian says, "The really pleasing thing for me like a lot of Aboriginal people, I missed out on my culture and the only way of finding my way back was to write about it because it was the only skill I had."
"I wanted to be a better footballer than I was but I couldn’t manage it. Writing was something I could do so I started telling stories I’ve been doing it since I was 24, I’m quite a bit older than that. I’ve been at it for 50 years."
Bruce Pascoe says his first writing’s was about girls who didn’t know he existed.
"Very Bad poetry about people who didn’t know me if I had fallen over,' he says 'then I started writing stories and novels and nonfiction, writing histories, virtually everything I’ve written had an Aboriginal cultural component."
His intention from very early on was to try and make Aboriginal people a normal part of artistic life.
He refers to the book 'Fog a Dox' which picked up the 2013 Prime Ministers Award for young adult fiction.
"When people read stories from Australia and they got em from me, there will always be at least one Aboriginal person in the story. Sometimes the whole story would be about Aboriginal people."
Dark Emu Black Seed and Convincing Ground were two of his largest and most historical contributions to truth telling, history and identity in Australia.
His writings have challenged the misconception about cultural identity and contributed to First Nations dialogues on a national scale, meeting the brief of the Australia Council Awards.
Moving forward
Pascoe says, "I'm proud to be part of the resistance to the lie about our people’s history. The kind of history which Australians believe is nonsense."
"The Germans, French, Japanese, they all understand what land grabs are, what murder is,' he says 'It’s just Australian’s who think that somehow or other that they came by the land by peaceful means."
"We’re not going to get all of the land back, but at least we can redress the ridiculous nature of our Australian history as it’s taught to our children, so we can grow up as a country and try and come to some agreement with each other about how to proceed."
"We have to refute that, no use crying over spilt milk. We’re not going to get all of the land back, but at least we can redress the ridiculous nature of our Australian history as it’s taught to our children."
Bruce says by acknowledging and understanding our history we can grow up as a country and try and come to some agreement with each other about how to proceed.
He says, 'Not this nonsense that people did nothing with the land and therefore didn’t deserve the land."
"You’ve always got to listen to the country, the country is always trying to talk to you. If you’re not paying attention to country then your not paying attention to culture."
The land is talking
Bruce Pascoe expresses his love for country through his writings and characteristics of people and animals portrayed in his books.
When it comes to looking after and connecting to country he says that the land is talking to us and we have to listen.
"We are going to have to listen to the land and be respectful cause she is our mother."
“It’s good for you. Acknowledging country is actually good for your health. It doesn’t matter if your black or white, it’s the truth. ' He says, 'You’ve always got to listen to the country, the country is always trying to talk to you. If you’re not paying attention to country then your not paying attention to culture. You really have to be aware of the country."
Most people don't think they can connect to country even if they live in the city.
Bruce says, "You’ve got be listening to the weather, watching the birds and animals. It’s part of your culture, it’s part of your law. If you ignore it I think your ignoring your own culture."
"We are going to have to listen to the land and be respectful cause she is our mother."
Male violence, war and the next chapter
While Bruce Pascoe is busy in the production of Dark Emu- Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident becoming a film, he is writing a new book on male violence looking at the world and the way men create war.
"If you want to be violent against your family, you're violent against the world."
"I look at the world and look at the way men create war, it’s always men. The violence that men can perpertrate on the world and sometimes on our own families."
He says writing his new novel is about trying to understand male violence and finding a way where men can still be men with out being violent. "We can look after our family and world without going to war, war can be a smaller thing such as screaming at your family or it can be as big as bombing Syria for the hundredth time."
Bruce Pascoe says they’re the same thing. "If you want to be violent against your family, your violent against the world."
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