Deep History: Country and Sovereignty

In Deep History: Country and Sovereignty, edited by Jackie Huggins and Ann McGrath, leading historians and thinkers explore the First Nations histories of caring for places and people over millennia.

What is deep history? How do histories make sovereignty on Country? What is history’ s future?

For Aboriginal people, the past is the present. Competing histories form and transform the lands, peoples and nations of Oceania, from the Pacific Islands, New Guinea and Aotearoa/New Zealand to Australia. In nations impacted by colonialism, such questions are particularly pertinent. First Nations peoples have long made history, living on their Country far longer than the colonial invaders.

In Deep History: Country and Sovereignty, edited by Ann McGrath and Jackie Huggins, leading historians and thinkers explore Indigenous histories of caring for places and people over millennia. With contributions from Brenda L. Croft, Anna Clark, Lynette Russell and many more, Deep History considers how stories of the past and the future are inscribed on land, waterways and skies. Walking on Country, gardening and agriculture and rock art are historical practices that continue to play an important role in asserting sovereign rights.

While colonial powers crafted historical narratives of entitlement, First Nations people continue to perform deep histories of sovereignty. Deep History offers readers an invitation to walk the Country, to see how it reveals the most crucial of all histories for the planet.

'A powerful collection of connections to history, Country and culture oering new insights every Australian should read.' Terri Janke, author of True Tracks: Respecting Indigenous knowledge and culture

'If you have ever wondered what it actually means when we say "sovereignty was never ceded", this expansive volume holds a wealth of answers. Sovereignties of time, place, law, language, knowledge, memory, history, identity, logic, governance and art are explored by some of contemporary scholarship's most critical and creative thinkers. Challenging, compelling, provocative and practical, Deep History is a book for head and heart alike. Here is vital and vibrant reading for our truth-telling and truth-listening age.' Clare Wright, Professor of History, La Trobe University and author of Nku Dhruk The Yirrkala Bark Petitions