It looks towards the possibility of a better future where space junk has been removed, the night sky is visible again and interplanetary pioneers take a lighter, more informed approach to space exploitation. It is a book full of examples of how Indigenous knowledge of the night sky is an important resource that can help repair the earth. This is not just a polemic about the need for dark skies. Similarly, with the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades.Ĭlose to home, the corruptly approved Narrabri Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction project by Santos in the Pilliga gets a justified serve not just because of how it will cause massive light pollution (flaring) and destroy 300 cultural sites but because it is causing widespread ecological harm. I had no idea that the Dark Emu moved in sync with the land emu or that variations on this constellation were culturally significant to so many Indigenous peoples. It is important because non-Indigenous Australians have for too long overlooked the interconnection of land and sky. Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli are engaging authors with a refreshing depth of knowledge. This fabulous small book has reminded me what we gain from listening deeply to the oldest living culture on earth and realising that for all our so called modernity there is so much more we can learn and how important it is to include this knowledge alongside western learning traditions. The stickiness of this oral tradition and indigenous Ways of Knowing is most impressive when modern astronomers can learn about past astronomical events from songlines.

Within the stories preserved in songlines, dance and dreaming a are layers of information memorable enough to ensure the information within survives the centuries. This interconnected ness is kept alive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through an extraordinary oral tradition that survives Millenia. This one is First Nations Astronomy.ĭeep in all our pasts is knowledge of the interconnection between sky, sea and land that has faded for recent generations. It's a series of non-fiction titles sponsored by the Australian National Museum by Aboriginal authors on a range of knowledge areas.

I've been upping my game on reading Aboriginal authors and damn there's some great stuff out there in any genre, for anyone.

Karlie noon book