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| Photo from Brisbane Writers Festival |
Anita Marianne Heiss is an Aboriginal Australian writer who was born in the year 1968 in Sydney and is a part of the Wiradjuri Nation in Central New South Wales. The Wiradjuri tribe is one of the many Indigenous tribes of Australia and is best known for their skills in gathering and hunting.
The history of the hardships of Aboriginal Australians is riddled with suffering under the colonial powers of the Europeans along with the adversity in regards to their fight for land reclamation. Anita Heiss primarily advocates for Indigenous Australian literacy and literature. She works on various types of literature such as non-fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, travelogues, and commercial women’s fiction.
One of Heiss’ renowned works is a memoir called, “Am I Black Enough For You?” published in 2012. Her memoir recounts the experiences she encounters as a child of an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father. This book also includes her ideas and thoughts on the stereotyping of Aboriginal Australians in ways that are borderline racist.
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| Photo from Penguin Australia |
Furthermore, Anita recently published another award-winning historical novel last 2021 with the title “Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray” or “River of Dreams.” With the time set around Gundagai's flood in 1852, the novel follows the story of a young Wiradjuri woman through her experiences in hardships, love, and kinship.
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| Photo from Simon and Schuster |
Anita Heiss is among the many Aboriginal Australian authors that remind us time and time again that listening to the voices of indigenous communities and their stories is crucial. Experiences of the indigenous people before, during, and after colonization shows us just how strong and imperishable true kinship among families and tribes is when faced against brutal colonial forces.
