1. Aboriginal Australians
2. Art, Aboriginal Australian
3. Citizenship
4. Country
5. Culture
6. First Nations people
7. History

A beautiful and colourful picture book that explains what it is to be truly Australian. The bold white text on a black background explains that we are all citizens and that we have rights and responsibilities. The book goes on to explain that we are also part of a nation where First Nations people have lived for tens of thousands of years and that along with more recent arrivals, we are all part of Australia. The simple but powerful language is a good starting point to explain to young children about Australia and its peoples. A Citizens of Australia Timeline is shown at the end of the book from 65,000 years ago until 2021. A very useful teaching resource.

The stunning illustrations work well with the words, showing traditional styles of painting alongside more modern pictures of Indigenous people, their foods as well as landscapes. Canberra woman Nicole Godwin is a well-known children’s author (‘Jelly-Boy’, ‘Ella’ and ‘Billie’) who writes about environmental themes as well as social justice issues. Wiradjuri man Duncan Smith OAM is well known in the Canberra region for his family group, Wiradjuri Echoes, which visits schools performing and educating about Indigenous culture. Jandamarra Cadd is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Warung descendant and has been a finalist in every major Australian portrait competition.

‘We are Australians’ was Highly Commended in the Australian Educational Publishing Awards 2023.

1. Jandamarra Cadd website http://jandamarrasart.com/the-artist/
2. ‘The Wiradjuri Echoes story’, words from Duncan Smith and Wiradjuri Echoes perform alongside the Murrumbidgee River https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWb3Ru9oGL4
3. Nicole Godwin website https://nicolegodwin.com/
4. We are Australians book trailer by Sue Lawson, 15 Mar 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX-vm70vleY
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX-vm70vleY http://wdog.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Citizen_TN_V1-compressed2.pdf
6. Museum of Australian Democracy, ‘Civics in Pictures’ https://www.moadoph.gov.au/learning/classroom-resources/civics-in-pictures/?fbclid=IwAR2Bf2NPZqFRq1Rnd7GaPVrBtPdNWg3snl7it4Bj26FmQ8x49bkGuUymuBM#