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At the start of November, Ampe-Kenhe Ahelhe (Children’s Ground Central Australia) welcomed the Mparntwe (Alice Springs) community to the launch of the book In My Blood It Runs, authored by Dujuan Hoosan, Carol Turner and Margaret Anderson and illustrated by Dhungutti artist and Archibald-winner Blak Douglas. The book follows the acclaimed documentary featuring Dujuan and his family as he navigates life as a First Nations boy in Central Australia.
It was a wonderful celebration of a young man finding his voice, first through film and then through this important book for children, young people and adults. This book tells our story of our young people. After a year where our children and young people have been in the spotlight in Alice Springs, this book tells the story of our lives through the eyes of our young people.
The event commemorated one of our founding Elders, the late Dr. MK Turner OAM, with a minute of silence and celebrated the power of First Nations-led change.
Co-author Carol Turner, Dujuan’s grandma, delivered a beautiful speech. Here is some of what she said…
Werte, arritnye CT ayenge Ampe-Kenhe Ahelhe warke-irreme. Dujuan kenhe aperle Margaret Anderson re arelhe Garrawa ayenge kenhe arelhe Arrernte (Hello, my name is CT and I work at Ampe-Kenhe Ahelhe. Dujuan and Margaret are Garrawa and I am an Arrernte woman).
“We want people to see that our Aboriginal culture is still strong. Dujuan has learned a lot and is learning a lot by being on his own Country. We hope people learn to respect our culture, language, and identity,” continued CT.
“We hope people learn to teach their children not to run amok. Nowadays our kids are still placed in other people’s care with non-Aboriginal people looking after our children. Our children can’t learn in confined areas, they need to be on our Country with us, their family. We hope people see the joy and the sadness of this story. And that it gives other Aboriginal families hope and strength.”
We dedicate this book to mum Aggie and mum Dr MK who recently passed. They were our cultural leaders and cultural advisers and taught us and inspired us to be better educators, song writers and songkeepers like them. They worked hard on this film, on this book and both were Elders of Children’s Ground and Akeyulerre Healing Centre. Their legacy lives on in all of us.
On the night of the launch, ampes (children) took part in a drawing workshop with Blak Douglas to create his iconic flat-bottomed clouds. Meanwhile, the young people got involved in a bush-wok cook-off to make kangaroo, chicken and vegetable curries for dinner.
The big crowd of supporters was amazed by a performance from young Arrernte dancers before hearing powerful speeches by Dujuan and Carol, Blak Douglas and Children’s Ground Chair William Tilmouth. The special evening finished with a big chocolate cake and all the Children’s Ground families took home copies of the book signed by the authors and illustrator.
The In My Blood It Runs book can be purchased online via Pan Macmillan or in all good bookstores. You can watch In My Blood It Runs on Netflix and Clickview.
