By Casey Neill
Musician Isaiah Firebrace wrote a picture book to teach kids about the longest continuing culture on Earth.
The Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara man learnt a lot himself while writing Come Together: Things Every Aussie Kid Should Know about the First Peoples.
“I honestly learned so much about my own culture while I was writing this book and that’s the funny thing, because if I learned so much just imagine how much the kids are going to learn about our beautiful culture,” he said.
Isaiah’s petition to the Australian Government calling for Aboriginal history to be taught in every classroom inspired the book.
“Change starts with education,” he said.
“When I was growing up we weren’t taught very much about my beautiful ancient culture or my ancestors.
“I’ve only just started to connect with my heritage.
“The more we can learn about each other’s cultures the more we can understand each other and live together in harmony.’
From caring for Country and Dreaming stories, to the importance of Elders and the Indigenous origins of AFL, Isaiah connects readers to each topic through his own personal story.
He said the hardest part was choosing what to cover and what to leave out.
“I also had to cut the topics right down as it’s a kid’s book,” he said.
“I would have loved to have talked more about it all, especially things like the Dreamtime and football.”
Isaiah’s life changed completely after winning The X Factor in 2016 on his 17th birthday.
He’s since represented Australia at Eurovision and traveled the country to mentor young people.
“The thought of kids teaching parents and people learning together is what this book is all about,” he said.
