A First Nations Perspective : Stories of Nanda Resilience as Told by Elders

This book is an extrapolation of the research Kelly conducted for the doctoral thesis about his people’s struggle to come to terms with native title claim processes, in which we are required to prove our connection to land, culture and kin.

This book offers a compelling and profound journey of Nanda people''s existence over time. It gives a robust understanding of the kinship and culture of my family group. It differs from others in the same field as it has been produced from an insider’s perspective; it is about my family, who are of the Murchison region of Western Australia. The book presents the ways in which my family continues to hold strong connection to kin and Country through traditional practices that have survived and flourished, regardless of colonialism. This has been achieved through the privileging of my family’s lived experiences and perceptions as told by Elders. In addition, Kelly focuses on the small details of our everyday lives to capture aspects of Country and kin. Further, his insider positioning is incorporated in a critically reflexive way, based on auto-ethnographic accounts. Each chapter of the book focuses on particular ideas that were developed over the course of the study. The research provides examples of the historical and contemporary struggle of this Nanda family group’s survival and recognition as traditional owners in a native title claim. Particular themes were recurrent features in many of my conversations with Elders. The theme of identity, pertaining to how members of this family group identify with each other and with others, was consistent throughout the process and is based on the love and respect between family members.

Readers interested in Australian history, cultural studies and Indigenous studies will appreciate this book.