The Bible in Buffalo Country wins NT Book Award

A book co-authored by ANU Historian Laura Rademaker revealing the fascinating and tumultuous early years of the Oenpelli Mission has won the Northern Territory Chief Minister’s History Award.

The Bible in Buffalo Country, authored by Sally K May, Donna Nadjamerrek, Julie Narndal Gumurdul and Dr Rademaker looks at the remote Arnhem Land Aboriginal settlement of Oenpelli (Gunbalanya) from 1925 to 1931.

The award-winning book was born of a First Nations community’s desire to better understand their own history, to uncover evidence of the past and to share that story more widely.

“The community wanted to know and share their history and had been working with archaeologist Sally May on projects relating to the early years of colonisation,” says Dr Rademaker. “I was invited on as an historian because I already knew the archive and could bring it to the community.

The process of bringing the book to fruition was one of investigation and community collaboration, utilising and sharing a variety of sources from the archaeological through to oral history, and a variety of records including mission reports, maps and photographs.

“We were in constant discussions with community about what should and should not be in the book. Our co-author, Donna Nadjamerrek, was on the ground in Gunbalanya and shared copies of the photos and writing with various local families who were able to name their ancestors in the photos (their names were unidentified in the archives) and confirm that these photos were appropriate for inclusion in the book,” says Dr Rademaker.

Because much of the documentary history represented European perspectives, the authors were mindful of ensuring the perspectives of local communities were represented, utilising oral history and going through a process of consultation using old photos to enable people to share the stories told by their parents and grandparents.

Dr Rademaker has long explored the activities of Christian Missionaries in northern Australia. In telling the story of Oenplli’s early days, what fascinated her was the ambiguous agenda the missionaries had.

“There was no explicit language of seeking to assimilate Aboriginal people into white Australia at this early stage (although the thrust of their work was assimilatory). Instead, the superintendent of the mission described his work as preparing the community for the creation of a future self-governing Arnhem Land State,” says Rademaker, who suggests the willingness of some First Australians to settle on the mission and cooperate may have been to some extent based on this, and not what the objectives later came out to be.

The team behind this book is now looking to reveal more insights from the rich cultural history in Arnhem land, looking at the stories contained within some of the richest and oldest rock art in the world. In doing so they hope to further overcome the notions that persist about Aboriginal history.

“Rock art assumes a different temporality to the linear time assumed by western archives of written documents, but it is a record and archive nonetheless. We want to break down this idea that Aboriginal history is ‘pre’ history because its records are not in writing.”

The authors of The Bible in Buffalo Country set out with a goal, to work with the community to illuminate and share their story with Australians. And with the support of ANU Press, this award-winning book is now available for anyone interested in the rich story of First Nations history.

“We wrote this book first for the community – so that it would have access to the primary documents of its history in perpetuity – and also for researchers, to open up these records for analysis. So we were thrilled that it’s having a reception beyond this. The great thing about ANU press is the books are open access, so people who would never have access to academic libraries are downloading and reading the book.”

The Bible in Buffalo Country can be downloaded free or ordered in print from ANU Press: https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/aboriginal-history/bible-buffalo-country