Yarning with the archives

An encounter with an archive that relates directly to us can change our view of the world in an instant. It can be enlightening and devastating all at once. In this chapter, a conversation, a yarn, takes place between two Indigenous women who know, both personally and professionally, how critical it is that Indigenous families have access to all archives that relate to them and be supported as they unravel what this access can mean for them. The authors reflect on what it has felt like to find previously unseen family knowledge, stories, and secrets, and in doing so uncover new realisations of self and relocate embodied memories. Informed through a ‘praxis of love', the authors' personal insights reveal epistemological perspectives that are heartfelt and embrace Spirit. Jacinta Walsh, a Jaru / Yawuru woman and a PhD candidate, and her family are documenting their Aboriginal family history in Western Australia and Queensland between 1900 and the 1960s. Jacinta shares several of her own encounter stories with archives and leads a conversation with her PhD supervisor and mentor, Professor Lynette Russell. Lynette is a Wotjobaluk woman and a widely acclaimed historian who has supported many Indigenous families through their journey to find their life histories, and has utilised the archives to tell her own family story. Lynette, responding to several questions posed by Jacinta, reflects on her experiences in the archives and reaffirms the importance of archive-derived narrative formation and truth-telling from Indigenous family standpoints.