Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Thomson, PhD candidate, Senior Research Assistant, School of Education, The University of Queensland
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s new fantasy novel for primary students, Billy and the Epic Escape, features a First Nations character.
As The Guardian reports, it features a “young First Nations girl living in foster care in an Indigenous community near Alice Springs who gets abducted by the novel’s villain”.
The book was published without consultation with any Indigenous individual or community and has been met with condemnation from Indigenous groups. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation says it contributes to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations people’s and experience”.
Billy and the Epic Escape has since been pulled from the shelves by its publisher and Oliver has issued an apology.
There are plenty of other, much more suitable options out there if schools want to use contemporary Indigenous texts in their classrooms.Why is Jamie Oliver’s book a problem?
As Amy Thomson’s 2024 research on English teaching shows, Indigenous voices and stories are sorely missing from Australian classrooms.
While the curriculum encourages teachers to select texts from diverse sources,
“the influences of British colonisation manifests in Australian English teachers’ text selection as they continue to choose texts from the ‘canon’”.
Other research also shows how prioritising traditional texts (such as Shakespeare) can silence Indigenous perspectives in the classroom.
But it is essential Indigenous voices and stories of lived experience are prioritised in our pursuit of truth telling and reconciliation in Australia.
In another 2024 paper, Thomson shows how portrayals of Indigenous peoples in fiction have an impact on how children and young people relate to and understand Indigenous people, cultures and histories.
Other Indigenous researchers have stressed the importance of young people engaging with truthful representations of Indigenous Australians and our resilience through First Nations-authored literature.
Through Indigenous texts, the impact of colonisation is not restricted to the past – we show young people our cultures are still here and colonisation is a complex and ongoing process.
At the same time, we know some educators are worried about teaching and talking about Indigenous content. They fear they will make mistakes or misrepresent Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
There are so many other options
There is an abundance of First Nations-authored texts and stories to include in today’s Australian classrooms for both primary and high school students.
Allen & Unwin.
For example, Kunggandji and Birri-gubba author Boori Monty Pryor writes his books based on his lived experience as an Aboriginal man. Maybe Tomorrow details hardship but celebrates resilience. Pryor engages in truth telling through laying bare the impacts of colonisation and his own experiences of racism, while showcasing his own strength as he overcomes his struggles with mental health.
Simon and Schuster.
Wiradyuri woman Anita Heiss writes both fiction and non-fiction. This includes
novels, such as Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, celebrating the true history of this country. Heiss also conveys contemporary representations of First Nations women in fictional texts such as Manhattan Dreaming. Heiss also curates anthologies, such as Growing up Aboriginal in Australia, which demonstrate the diversity of our lived experiences.
Black Inc Press.
Torres Strait Islander author Aunty Carol Mooka and illustrator Lauren Mooka, beautifully articulate real events in their story Our Pet Pelican. Featuring Kriole language, this book is an example of how the lived experience of Indigenous Australians have lessons we can learn from today.
These are just three examples of rich, Indigenous-authored texts. There is also a national repository of Indigenous Australian authors and storytellers called Blackwords if teachers are unsure where to start.
What else can schools do?
Schools and teachers should work closely with Indigenous community members and colleagues when embedding Indigenous content into their teaching.
Co-design is a way of working respectfully and collaboratively with First Nations people to avoid Jamie Oliver-type situations. As our research shows, if it is done properly, co-design centres Indigenous leadership and voices in decision-making every step of the way (it is more than mere consultation). If co-design were used well in the Jamie Oliver scenario, there would have been a team of diverse Indigenous experts working with the content writers from conception to publication.
We know literature can allow readers to imagine others’ experiences and build empathy and compassion.
These are qualities that are essential for truth telling and reconciliation. As other academics have noted, reading is a way of listening. This is something Indigenous peoples have been asking of non-Indigenous Australians for many years.
Marnee Shay receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Queensland Government, AIATSIS and EREA. Marnee Shay is a member of the ARC Indigenous Forum and QATSIETAC.
Amy Thomson and Katherine McLay do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Jamie Oliver’s novel really missed the mark. There are plenty of fantastic First Nations’ books if schools look for them – https://theconversation.com/jamie-olivers-novel-really-missed-the-mark-there-are-plenty-of-fantastic-first-nations-books-if-schools-look-for-them-243359
