Behind the pages
of Sister Girl

Twenty four years since the release of the ever-timely book Sister Girl, its author, Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA, and editor, Associate Professor Sandra Phillips, reflect on identity and reconciliation ahead of the book’s relaunch this month.

The University of Queensland Press (UQP) is proud to be releasing the updated edition of Sister Girl: Reflections on Tiddaism, Identity and Reconciliation. 

The book was written by UQ graduate Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA (Bachelor of Art (Hons) ’87, Doctor of the University of Queensland honoris causa ’06), who also served as the deputy director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at UQ until 2010. Dr Huggins was also named the UQ Alumnus of the Year in 2007.

Associate Dean (Indigenous Engagement) in UQ’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Associate Professor Sandra Phillips, was the editor of the original edition of the book, which was first published in 1998. 

Contact chatted to Dr Huggins and Dr Phillips about the project, how the world has changed (and not) since the book first came out, and why it remains so blisteringly relevant today.

Dr Huggins: Recent protest movements indicate there is still a lot of unrest and unfinished business globally, which speaks to the Aboriginal movement here in Australia. Same issues and lack of attention. Little progress has been made on incarceration, racism, and the sexist nature of society. Twenty-four years (and more) is a long time saying the same thing, and nothing changes. The progress is that there are more visible numbers, aided by social media, who now stand with us. If only governments did the same.

Dr Phillips: Wow. So much has changed, and at the same time, so little. I think the biggest change is that spotlights have been turned on and are sweeping so many towns and cities from a far greater height. There are fewer and fewer places to hide one’s bigotry. To think of all the protests Brisbane Murries, our Torres Strait Islander friends and other allies used to carry out on the streets of Brisbane, compared with the June 2020 Black Lives Matter and Stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody protests around the country. We were in groups of tens, twenties and sometimes hundreds in the 1980s (and before my time in Brisbane in the 1960s and 1970s). Whereas more recent protests have seen thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of people gather.

It feels like we are no longer niche. It feels like the things that trouble our lives, now trouble the consciousness of so many more. It feels, too, like we as Blakfellas have helped build consciousness, so that more people see the connection between the different systems of oppression. It’s writing like Jackie’s that helps those same people see that they have a role to play. The 2022 NAIDOC theme is GET UP! STAND UP! SHOW UP! I think that’s tapping into the sentiment that we all have to turn up to make change. Deadly!

Dr Huggins: I had been considering a new edition of Sister Girl for many years and some downtime gave me the opportunity to write more articles and supply speeches, which were important over the years. To be honest, I did see the attention that books by Indigenous authors were receiving recently, when in 1998, they weren’t. It was very hard to get any traction in those days. So, it was a matter of timing for me. Back in those days, the life story genre was huge, and I believe I was among the first to do the essay-style of writing.

Dr Phillips: A quote by Sister Melissa Lucashenko on the beautiful new cover of the updated edition says it all really: “Classic writing from a renowned Blak historian”. Classic writing is classic writing; it just gets better with time. So, an updated edition should always be in the wings for durable, quality thinking, especially because it can take decades for the mainstream to truly catch up on Blak thought.

Dr Huggins: Some of the works are essays I did in my undergraduate years. A tutor, the late Christine Stafford, told me I could write, and this encouraged me no end. Emeritus Professor Carole Ferrier from  UQ’s English department gave me my first opportunity to publish in Hecate Journal, obviously wanting more diversity and voice for Aboriginal women. I have to say, I loved writing and would get my assignments in three weeks before the due date. I never asked for an extension in the five years I attended university. I met Sandra when we were both undergraduates, and she later became an editor at UQP. We have maintained a close relationship since.

Dr Phillips: I landed at UQ as a 17-year-old in 1985. I’d left a town of 1800 people and, if memory serves me right, UQ’s student population at that time was 18,000. I was one of two ‘babies’ in this new big extended family of Blakfellas all studying at UQ. When I got the chance to train as an editor at UQP and return to Brisbane about a decade after I graduated, I jumped at it. 

I came back with two babies in tow, lots of professional experience in Canberra, Sydney and Broome with Magabala Books. To be in close proximity with Sister Jackie again was a wonderful complement. I feel so blessed to have grown up in my own family in Gayndah, and continue to grow alongside these amazing thinkers and Blak intellects at the St Lucia campus. So, to work in publishing, and with Jackie at UQP in the 1990s seemed natural and, in many ways, like a continuation of our mutual commitment to strong Blak voice, to asserting our political truths, and to telling Blak stories in Blak ways. 

Dr Huggins: It was fantastic to have another Blak woman editor – one of the first in the country in fact, and certainly at UQP. We were able to transcend barriers and had a common language in the first place. As the author, it certainly made it easier for me to have Sandra there. 

Dr Phillips: In the publishing business, it’s tricky to honour Blak stories in Blak ways, while also ensuring that – more often than not – non-Indigenous readers can meet the work. I like to make readers work a little, and I think the power of Jackie’s writing is that there is a warm vernacular in what is often direct prose of political intent. 

Jackie’s writing style draws people in, builds a conversation and keeps people engaged, and that’s the key to building political coalitions and political change. I like the theory that, as people who have survived and thrived in spite of invasion and colonisation, where we sit gives us a wide-angle lens on life. We see wider, we see deeper, we see with more mental acuity and with warmer hearts. This can be seen in Jackie’s writing, where she has an informed view about so many things from a number of perspectives. She stays connected to our Elders and our communities, while communicating with people from outside our families and communities. 

I think Jackie is a natural speaker, a natural speech-writer, a natural politician in the broadest sense of the word. I think this all comes through Jackie’s writing. As an editor, the art lies in not trying to change that, but to sharpen its form to improve impact and to never override Jackie’s voice, which is so distinctive. 

Dr Huggins: Our writer-editor relationship was most important and delightful. Sandra was very professional, and knew my insights and stories and how to get them across. My messages are her messages too, as a Blak woman. We very much think in a similar way on politics and community. It was very helpful having someone who knew you all those years ago. Sandra is quite a bit younger than me but I felt we were equals in doing Sister Girl. She knew I had something to offer and she knew how to get those messages out into the wider domain.

Dr Phillips: Oh, I don’t call editing collaborative work. It requires a collaborative and respectful ethos, but the writer is always the boss of their own work. As my old friend and first editorial mentor Sue Abbey said, “the editor’s role is to be the work’s first reader”. I strive to give all new writing my full attention –  without fear or favour. I strive to be the reader who will be the diplomatic champion of the work, the work’s mother and sister, provide insight and respectful hearing, while pointing out where something could be improved. I hope I do that with every writer. 

Dr Huggins: I am chuffed that you call my work “blisteringly relevant”. It is! Unfinished business is becoming more visible now. We need more voices and writers getting the plight of our people into the full view of the international and Australian public, who still don’t know the basics of our history, dispossession, treatment and current position. My advice to the next generation is to keep speaking up loud and proud. Never give up knocking on those doors of people who might listen and then apply action. You could be pleasantly surprised if someone takes action.

Dr Phillips: Dr Huggins’ work remains relevant for many reasons. It demonstrates how to stand in our own power as women. Jackie demonstrates how to speak and write stridently and clearly, with story and warmth, and intention to make change. The status quo does not serve our interests, so seeing other Blak women standing up empowers all women and girls – and boys and men, too, if they want to meet the work as collaborators for change. Also, there is so much work still to do to create systemic change and eradicate discrimination and oppression. Writing like Jackie’s, which draws attention to states of inequality, remains urgently important. 

My advice as a 54-year-old mother and grandmother would be to remember who you are and where you’ve come from. Keep the fire in the belly, warmth in the heart, a clear mind and rest so you can keep up the fight. 

The updated edition of Sister Girl by Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA is out now and can be purchased directly from UQP, via your local bookstore or online.