First Knowledges: Innovation

What do you need to know to prosper as a people for at least 65,000 years? The First Knowledges series provides a deeper understanding of the expertise and ingenuity of Indigenous Australians.

First Nations Australians are some of the oldest innovators in the world. Original developments in social and religious activities, trading strategies, technology and land-management are underpinned by philosophies that strengthen sustainability of Country and continue to be utilised today.

Innovation: Knowledge and Ingenuity reveals novel and creative practices such as: body shaping; cremation; sea hunting with the help of suckerfish; building artificial reefs for oyster farms; repurposing glass from Europeans into spearheads; economic responses to colonisation; and a Voice to Parliament.

In the first book to detail Indigenous innovations in Australia, Ian J McNiven and Lynette Russell showcase this legacy of First Nations peoples and how they offer resourceful ways of dealing with contemporary challenges that can benefit us all.