Yarning up oral history: An Indigenous feminist analysis

Abstract

Yarning, a form of storytelling, is a significant feature of knowledge transmission within Australian Indigenous cultures, particularly between women and children. Children learn through yarning and observation of their environment. A yarning culture practiced for tens of thousands of years has ensured that the art of listening and telling was, and continues to be, embedded within the Australian Aboriginal female psyche. Oral history methodologies hold many commonalities with the yarning that is so deeply rooted in Indigenous culture. For example, both involve a narrative shared between people in an intimate environment and the protocols of trust, reciprocity, and respect. In this chapter, we explore the relationship between Indigenous yarning and oral history theory and practice through the lived experience of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women.