Kangkushot: The Life of Nyamal lawman Peter Coppin

(Paperback, New)

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An updated edition of an epic and remarkable story. In this powerful memoir, Peter Coppin's story emerges; told in fragments, moments of time and memories. A senior Nyamal lawman, Coppin was born in Yarrie country in Western Australia's Pilbara. His was a life of danger, drama and hardship; his people forced to work on pastoral stations for meagre rations, their lives subject to the whims of white pastoralists, government agents and legislators. But Coppin dreamed of a life for his people where they could access education and health services, and control their destinies. Despite great danger to themselves, he and others took part in the first Aboriginal strike in Australia, the Pilbara Strike in 1946. For Peter Coppin the land holds mysteries; it's special and life-giving and some of it, sacred. Initially uncertain about telling of his extraordinary life and culture, working with trusted friend Jolly Read, the tales spilled forth, building, the fragments into a whole, little by little, tape by tape. To those who asked him questions he said: What are you asking me these questions for anyway Just read the book'. Kangkushot provides valuable insights into the rich and spiritual way Aboriginal people view their lives and land, and their place in it.

Author Bio

Jolly Read has spent 15 years working with Indigenous communities on native title, music, and writing/oral history projects. In 2005, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study Indigenous storytelling and preservation/development of culture and native title issues. She was a longtime friend of Peter Coppin. Peter Coppin, often known as Kangushot, was one of the leaders of the 1946 strike by Aboriginal workers to protest against the conditions they worked under.