Language is intrinsically connected to the collective identity, particularly the culture of social

groups. The values and attitudes of groups of people can be affirmed or challenged through the
language employed to express various aspects of culture.

Ali Cobby Eckerman's contemporary poetry primarily reveals and proclaims that it is vital for
Indigenous Australians to have ties to their past, especially the Indigenous culture’s
interdependence with the land. Eckermann indicates this, in the poems ‘Unearth’ and
‘Oombulgurri'.

In ‘Unearth’ Eckermann illustrates the significance of the connections to past culture and
bringing it into the present, exploring the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Australians and
their ancestors, whilst in ‘Oombulgurri’ Eckermann illuminates the loss of culture in current
times, exploring the ongoing impacts of anti-Indigenous sentiment in the present and from the
past.

Through her poetic techniques and particularly evocative imagery, Eckermann creates a voice
for Aboriginals, forcing the reader to question the destruction and decaying of Indigenous
culture and values, despite their importance.

In 'Unearth', Eckermann affirms the importance of having a connection to culture and the past,
forcing the reader to question the obliteration Aboriginal culture, with their interdependence with
the land being destroyed and only now being recovered through the exploration of the
rediscovery of the past.

The need for connections to the past is displayed, in the anaphoric repetition of the phrase
‘excavate the past’ presenting the need for uncovering the past and bringing it into the present
representing how both the past and culture should be remembered and brought to the present
and future.

Emphasized in an accompanying alliterative metaphor of ‘boomerang bones,’ suggesting that

the past is returning and that the actions of the present will reverberate into the future,
illustrating the need for people to be ‘warriors’ to keep culture alive in the present times.

Furthermore, the auditory imagery of ‘boomerangs rattling in unison’ reinforces the metaphor
suggesting a collective connection and unity among the ancestors that modern-day ‘elders’
should emulate to commemorate the past and unite the Indigenous peoples together despite
their differences.

Reinforced in phrase ‘even when the language has changed’, highlighting the past’s persistence
into the future despite the damage it may have taken and the length of time as well as its
ongoing impacts on the present even as time progresses.

Conversely, the negative aspects of the past are presented in the symbolism of ‘blood on the
truth’ reflecting the violence and trauma that colonialism brought to Australia and that plagued
the past as well as the brutal destruction of Aboriginal culture despite its importance to the
Indigenous peoples.

Through these literary techniques, Eckermann conveys the complexity and depth of the cultural
tension created through the unearthing of the past, revealing the brutal loss of Indigenous
culture in the past and the monumental effort put into regaining it.
Eckermann exposes the hidden loss of Aboriginal culture within Australia despite its importance
in ‘Oombulgurri’ through the exploration of the desolation arising out of the destruction of
Indigenous culture from the breaking of the Aboriginal interdependence with the land.

The desolation of the Indigenous culture is displayed in Eckermann’s use of metaphor in ‘tumble
weeds of blue pattern dresses’ represents the culture of Indigenous Australians as well as
people who remembered the culture being left to drift away like tumbleweed which is usually
witnessed in isolated places, illustrating the slow erasure of Aboriginal culture in its isolation
from the world.

Supported by the anaphoric repetition of the word ‘empty’ reinforcing the desolation of the town
despite the promise it would be left to the Indigenous people and how it was left to nature
revealing the simmering cultural tension of Aboriginals wondering why their identity and culture
have been left to slowly die in isolation.

Furthermore, the use of allusion in ‘the town is empty now / as empty as the promises that once
held it together’ refers to the promise by the Australian government that no more land would be
taken from the Indigenous people which turned out to be an empty promise. The broken
promise forces the audience to empathize with the Aboriginal people's feelings after their land
was stolen from them despite indications it wouldn’t be.

Likewise, the juxtaposition in ‘even the creak of the gate is silent,’ reveals how the town shames
the Australian country such that even the gate wouldn't draw attention to the town’s closure,
indicating that this was hidden from the public view despite the importance.

Reinforced, in the imagery of an empty and forgotten town left to nature throughout the poem,
representing how the town of ‘Oombulgurri’ was forgotten, mimicking the lack of news coverage
on the event despite its importance to Australia and the Indigenous people, hinting at an
underlying tension within Australia, and shining a light on the hidden destruction of Aboriginal
culture from the breaking of the Indigenous interdependence with the land.

In both ‘Unearth’ and ‘Oombulgurri,’ Eckermann informs the reader of how Indigenous
Australians are losing connections to the past and to their culture, even though they are vital to
the Indigenous identity, creating a powerful and emotional response from the audience about
the importance of the past.

Eckermann uses both poems to disclose how Indigenous people are losing their culture and
history regardless of their efforts to retrieve them. She creates a dichotomy between the two
poems, ‘Unearth’ endorsing the reclamation of culture and the past whilst ‘Oombulgurri’ laments
the loss of the culture, illustrating how regardless of the efforts of Indigenous people, Indigenous
culture is still disappearing.

Displayed through the difference in tone of each poem, ‘Unearth’ has a frustrated tone at the
loss of culture in the past that was due to high levels of anti-Indigenous sentiment yet hopeful at
its possible restoration while ‘Ooombugarri’ is melancholic at the loss of culture in the present
that has been hidden from public view, forcing the reader to question why Indigenous culture is
still vanishing whilst giving hope that it will be saved.
Supported, by the lack of punctuation, revealing a connection between the two poems. Both
poems emphasize the injustices against Indigenous Aboriginals and the decimation of their
culture.

Eckermann reveals how Indigenous culture and history is still being lost despite Aboriginal
efforts to retain it and its importance through the dichotomy between ‘Unearth’ and
‘Oombulgurri’.

In conclusion, Eckermann shines a light on the loss of connections to the past and Indigenous
culture in both the past and present. She indicates the significance of this injustice through the
contrast between ‘Unearth’ and ‘Oombulgurri’ creates a powerful and emotional response from
the audience about the importance of the past and its culture.

Reveal

Illuminate

Expose

Shine light on

Opening up the idea of

Affirm

Endorse

Support

Justify

Confirm

Validate

1 Use synonyms of affirm and reveal

2 Reflect collective identity

3 Put values (things of significance and importance) and attitudes