If you have ever wondered what it is like to be an indigenous Australian living in rural Northern Territory, then look no further than 'Nona & Me'. Atkins has cleverly depicted the hardships of this demographic through the eyes of 'white man' living in community with Aboriginal people in a mining town. As a resident of Palmerston, teaching in Humpty Doo for the past 6 years, I couldn't fault the text's honesty and sensitivity. There are no easy answers to the Settlement versus Invasion debate. But that's no excuse to not tackle the issues.I am not sure that your average teenager (or Older Reader - Youth, as categorised by the CBC) would be as absorbed by the text as I was, given my age and experience. More likely, this novel would be an excellent teacher resource for SOSE when dealing with the consequences of white 'settlement'. Excerpts could also prove invaluable for Legal Studies; issues such as The Intervention Policy and Land Rights are candidly tackled (minus the bleeding hearts).
I found it hard to select an excerpt. There is such a vastness to the scope of the text that I'd hate anyone to think the following is all that the novel offers. The context is that a Yolnu mum and her three children have just been denied access to a motel swimming pool. Rosie is with her boyfriend Nick and her Father, having a meal at said hotel. They have witnesses the conflict and Rosie's dad is not impressed:
Nick knows how much I admire my dad, but I've never heard him lie about his opinions, and he doesn't start now. He says, "Well, they're different, for a start."
"How are they different?"
I hate dad at this moment. It seems like a carefully laid trap. I try to interject. "Can we talk about something else?"
"In a sec, Rosie."
Nick meets dad's gaze, head on. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not 'cause they're black. I'm not racist." He struggles to find the words. "It's just their culture... it's totally different to ours."
"Everyone's different - the Tongans, Africans, Iraqis... "
"Yeah, but they still live like us, in normal houses in town. Their kids all go to school. They want to learn English and get jobs.
Like the true teacher he is, Dad says, "Well, let's deconstruct that-"
I'm mortified. "Dad!"
But he ignores me. "The housing thing for a start. I admit, most of the houses in Yirrkala..." He shrugs. "They're awful. They are. But there's twenty people living in some of them. And they're old. They were built when I was a kid... people aren't used to handling money-"
"Yeah, and they waste it on booze."
My inhalation is so short and sharp it's audible. I expect dad to explode, but he keeps his voice low and quiet. "And why do they do that? I mean, it's a massive generalisation but let's run with it. People who drink that much are trying to escape reality, or create a new one in their heads...They've had their whole way of living dismantled in three generations..." (pp. 211-2)
Nick argues the point. No doubt many of your/our views are expressed by him. But you'll have to read the book to see how it all pans out.
