Isaiah Firebrace, singer and author, 23: Q&A

X Factor winner Isaiah Firebrace has written a book on what every Aussie kid should know about First Nations people. Why?

Isaiah Firebrace. Picture: Fernando Barraza

You’ve had a wonderfully successful singing career, having won The X Factor in 2016, and then representing Australia at Eurovision in 2017. What are the forces that shaped you?

I grew up on the Murray River, in a little place on the border called Echuca Moama, with my dad and my brother. My mum was in Tasmania. Between Mum and Dad there are 12 kids and I never met my mum face-to-face until I was 12. We were a fairly disadvantaged family but Dad did everything he could to keep me and my brother on the straight and narrow – and the cornerstone was the born-again Christian church we belonged to. Dad had a tough life and the church was great for him, and for us too, giving us stability. From an early age I grew up singing in the church and I always loved it.

Your father is Yorta Yorta and your mother is Gunditjmara. Was Indigenous culture a big part of your youth?

Not really. The church was the main focus. I think that like a lot of First Nations people, I’ve had to go on my own journey of discovery to learn about my history. It wasn’t something that was taught in school. When I did start researching I discovered that a lot of that recent history is pretty bleak and I felt that some of that should be brought out into the light.

Was that the motivation for writing your new book, Come Together: Things Every Aussie Kid Should Know about the First Peoples?

Last year I launched a petition on Change.org arguing that Aboriginal culture and history should be taught in all primary and secondary schools. It got, like, 300,000 signatures, and I presented it at Parliament House and met with [now Minister for Indigenous Australians] Linda Burney and Tanya Plibersek. The book grew from that. It’s aimed at primary school kids, but it will also spark conversations if parents are reading it to their kids.

What did you get from writing the book?

I learnt so much while doing all the research for it. When I set out I didn’t know the difference between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country. On my country, only a Yorta Yorta Elder can deliver a Welcome to Country, whereas an Acknowledgement of Country can be done by anyone on behalf of those who are gathered.

When you were growing up, which artists were you inspired by?

Archie Roach, obviously. Took the Children Away is an incredibly moving song that touched on a very painful chapter in our history. Gurrumul as well. There is just something so spiritual about his music. And Jessica Mauboy was a huge inspiration. It was so cool to see an Indigenous person on the screen and knowing that she was from Darwin just made me believe that I could do it too. I loved that movie, Rabbit Proof Fence, which is a really iconic movie for Indigenous people. And then there is The Sapphires, which Jess Mauboy starred in. I am actually related to the original Sapphires – they came from the Cummeragunja Mission, which was the reserve outside my hometown. When I started researching it I discovered that it was literally my own story, and that was so inspiring.

What does reconciliation look like to you?

I’ve seen a real shift in society in the past few years, since the Black Lives Matter protests. There seems to be much more recognition of minorities and especially Indigenous people. You can’t go anywhere now without seeing Indigenous people on Optus ads, or Uber Eats or Big W, and I never saw that growing up. And so I think reconciliation is about respect and acknowledgement and pride. Reconciliation is about all Australians embracing the incredible history of Indigenous people in this country that is thousands of years old, and being proud of it. There have been some sad bits, obviously, but so much of Aboriginal culture is about joy; a huge part of the Indigenous spirit is about being funny and making people laugh and having a joy and a lust for life.

Come Together: Things Every Aussie Kid Should Know about the First Peoples (Hardie Grant Explore, $24.99) is out now