Publisher Description

Murray River Country discusses the water crisis from a unique perspective — the intimate stories of love and loss from the perspectives of Aboriginal people who know the inland rivers as their traditional country. These experiences bring a fresh narrative to contemporary water debates about living in the Murray-Darling Basin, where water is increasingly scarce, increasingly degraded, and of increasing economic value. The devastation of the Murray River demands that something fundamental change in our water philosophies if we are to open up space for dialogue that will create new possibilities for action.

Author Biography

Jessica K. Weir is a research fellow at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. She is a human geographer whose research focuses on ecological and social issues in Australia.

Table of Contents

Foreword; Preface; Narratives & their Relations; Water Management in the Murray-Darling Basin; Connectivity, Loss & Resilience; Setting the Negotiable Table; Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations; 'Deplete, Destroy, Depart?"; References; Index.

Review

"Place, country, and care are at the heart of this wise book, which is so astutely responsive to the diverse, active Aboriginal individuals and nations of the Murray-Darling Basin . . . Weir's book gives me hope that these blasted places and the lives of so many species, human and not, might again be whole, in new ways and old." --Donna Haraway, professor, University of California-Santa Cruz
"This is a really positive book with some original and creative suggestions for ways forward." --Dr. Libby Robin, Australian National University and the National Museum of Australia
"Weir demonstrates that there is only one narrative and it encompasses both the claims of the water managers and their critics; both the settler and Indigenous narratives." --Richie Howitt, professor, Macquarie University
"Weir's originality is innovative and inspirational. She captures the MRC Indigenous people's holistic approach in reading the ecological statements of managing water and the benefits of this for everyone and the MRC's ecology." --Dr. Payi-Linda Ford, senior lecturer, Charles Darwin University

Long Description

Murray River Country discusses the water crisis from a unique perspective -- the intimate stories of love and loss from the perspectives of Aboriginal people who know the inland rivers as their traditional country. These experiences bring a fresh narrative to contemporary water debates about living in the Murray-Darling Basin, where water is increasingly scarce, increasingly degraded, and of increasing economic value. The devastation of the Murray River demands that something fundamental change in our water philosophies if we are to open up space for dialogue that will create new possibilities for action.

Review Quote

"Weir's originality is innovative and inspirational. She captures the MRC Indigenous people's holistic approach in reading the ecological statements of managing water and the benefits of this for everyone and the MRC's ecology."

Details