1. Arabana people (L13) (SA SH53-03)
2. Art, Aboriginal Australian
3. Bilingual books
4. Hunting and gathering
5. Kati Thanda / Lake Eyre (NE SA SH53-04)
6. Possums
7. Readers
8. Social life and customs

This short bilingual Arabana/English picture book is a retelling of a tale that will provide readers with insights into Arabana hunting traditions, language and culture. Author Thanti Syd Strangways, an Arabana elder, recounts that people used to climb the tall trees (apira) and remove possums (wamparla) from their burrows. They would kill others on the ground with boomerangs and hunting sticks for food and clothing. He adds, however, that the hunting was not permitted everywhere by the elders. In one place called Yarripulanha there were few possums and they were considered sacred.

Thanti Syd Strangways was born in Arabana country to the southwest of Kati-Thanda. The vibrant Indigenous artwork in the book is by Kathy Arbon, an Arabana woman.

1. Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Wamparla Apira (Possums and Tall Trees): An Arabana Story. https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/news-events/wamparla-is-our-word-of-the-month-celebrating-arabana-in-the-unesco-international-year-of-indigenous-languages
2. Green, Amy. The Transcontinental. ‘Arabana language revival continues’. https://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/6252030/arabana-language-revival-continues/
3. ‘Wamparla Apira Tells an Arabana Story for Arabana People’. The Wire http://thewire.org.au/story/wamparla-apira-tells-arabana-story-arabana-people/
4. The Arabana People and their Country http://www.arabana.com.au/