Buy Indigenous Books – Aboriginal Stories, Culture & Knowledge

Ceremony is at the heart of First Nations cultures a living connection between past and present, place and people. Ceremony: All Yesterdays for Today explores the deep cultural significance of Indigenous Australian ceremonies, from personal rites to large community gatherings. Drawing on their own stories and experiences, the authors share practices from Quandamooka Country to the Tanami Desert, while honouring the sacredness of ceremonies not meant to be shared. This powerful book affirms ceremony as a thread that ties generations together and celebrates the enduring strength of First Nations identity and tradition.

Bill Yidumduma Harney is senior Aboriginal elder of the Wardaman community west of Katherine N.T. Stockman, land rights pioneer, story-teller and painter, he is a custodian of an area famous for striped figures of the Lightning Brothers. This book written in collaboration with Dr Hugh Cairns is his cosmic view of life.

The Warlpiri people honour their ancestors and maintain their connection to the cosmos through the re-enactment of Jukurrpa (the Dreaming), including painting, singing, dancing, and ritual actions. From May 1981 to June 1982, ethnochoreologist Megan Morais worked with the Warlpiri community in Willowra, documenting dances and traditional movement patterns, particularly within yawulyu the women's ceremony. This book, co-authored with musicologist Myfany Turpin, preserves the knowledge shared by Warlpiri women, with proceeds supporting their participation in Women’s Law and Culture Meetings to teach and learn women's ceremonies.

Bradshaw and Wandjina paintings are two outstanding styles of Aboriginal art found amongst rock shelters of the Kimberley region of north Western Australia. Bradshaw paintings are believed to be the work of mythical ancestors and spirits and include a range of exquisite and ancient dark red human figures.

In an effort to preserve the traditional knowledge of bush food, authors Madison King and nurse educator, John Horsfall, have documented over 350 species of plants and fungi that were regularly gathered by the Indigenous peoples of the Kimberley region before and after colonisation.

Kimberley Bush Food is a valuable resource for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people interested in traditional bush food and alternative medicine. With comprehensive information on over 350 species, including images of each plant, this book is a practical guide to preserving traditional knowledge and using the plants and fungi of the Kimberley region for a healthier, more sustainable future.

Written by experts in the field, this book describes each species of plant and fungi, its nutritional benefits, and how it was used by the Indigenous people of the Kimberley region. It also includes detailed information on where to find these plants and fungi and how to prepare them for consumption.

With land clearing for crops and farming of sheep and cattle contributing to the extinction of many of these species, this guide offers a timely and important insight into traditional knowledge that has been passed down for thousands of years. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in Aboriginal culture, bush food, and preserving the knowledge of the past for future generations.

Ikuntji Artists presents Ikuntji Textiles, a book about the development of the designs, their stories and the artists behind them, and the collaborations. This full colour publication gives an insight into our range of wearable art textiles. Texts included range from interviews with our artists in Luritja and English, expert voices in the field of textile design, collaborators and our staff who have been on this journey with us.

This book is the result of years of artistic workshops and the recording of stories with the artists. It is self published by Ikuntji Artists through the support of donors. The research is funded by Indigenous Languages and Arts funding.

In the remote Tiwi Islands, a 20-strong group of female Elders have been meeting to sing for decades.

Their mission: to compose and perform songs that hold cultural, genealogical, geographical and spiritual knowledge that has been passed down through thousands of years of Tiwi storytelling, ceremony and in the songlines that circle the islands. 

Their goal: to preserve and pass these song stories to their children, grandchildren and future generations. 

The Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group from the Tiwi Islands have been sisters and friends all their lives. As young women they composed songs and as Elders and mentors in their Community, they draw on the old ways of Tiwi song traditions to help young Tiwi people connect with their language and cultural identity, also creating new songs. 

Murli La is a joint project between the ILF and Hardie Grant and the book is written by the Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group in partnership with Dr Genevieve Campbell. The ILF is extremely grateful for Dr Campbell’s knowledge and assistance in producing the book. 

Most of us tend to associate Australia with the one type of boomerang – the returning variety. It is generally accepted that the returning type was a later addition to boomerangs. Origins of the throwing stick are known in Egypt and parts of South America, but it was the Australian Aborigine who created a wide variety of boomerangs that had different applications, thus providing the greatest diversity. The earliest known evidence has been found at Wyrie Swamp in South Australia dating back to c.10,000 years. This has been scientifically proven by radiocarbon dating. As you read through this book you will begin to appreciate that the boomerang is more than just a toy.

A Field Guide to Central Australia: A Natural History Companion for the Traveller by Penny van Oosterzee