In today’s episode we talk with Tyson Yunkaporta. Tyson is an Indigenous scholar who belongs to the Apalech Clan from Far North Queensland. He is the founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of the acclaimed book “Sand Talk – How Indigenous Thinking Can Save The World”, and most recently “Right Story, Wrong Story”. His work focuses on applying Indigenous methods of inquiry to resolve complex issues and explore global crises.
Our conversation with Tyson is a wide ranging journey and flows in many different directions. We talk about the relationship structures of Indigenous communities, his honest reflections and critiques on his own award- winning books. He also shares personal reflections on his own relationship structure, age gaps within relationships and power dynamics, and much more.
For our overseas listeners it is important that we frame this conversation, as much of this history informs and provides a back drop to our discussion.
The Australian Aboriginal people are the oldest living civilization on earth, stretching back 75,000 years. In 1788 the British colonised Australia, and Australians have been navigating through the impacts of this to this very day. One example of this is the effects of what is known as the “stolen generation”. Between 1910 and 1970, the Australian government systematically removed thousands of Aboriginal children from their families, in the abhorrent and mistaken view that the children would be better off living with white families.
Whilst there are many moments of levity and laughter in our conversation, there are also moments where Tyson shares about his own intergenerational trauma, and the repercussions of colonisation on First Nations People.
At the Evolving Love podcast we want to give voice to people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences, and we are so very thankful to Tyson for sharing his story and reflections so openly and having this yarn with us.
You can buy Tyson’s books at this link below:
Right Story, Wrong Story
https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/right-story-wrong-story-adventures-in-indigenous-thinking
Sand Talk
https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/sand-talk
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Ep. 32 - Tyson Yunkaporta on "Right Story, Wrong Story" and Indigenous Approaches to Relationships