AustLit logo
image of person or book cover 6938262023795039127.png
Photo courtesy of the author.
Jackie Huggins Jackie Huggins i(A13998 works by) (a.k.a. Jacqueline Gail Huggins)
Born: Established: 1956 Ayr, Ayr - Home Hill - Cape Upstart area, Marlborough - Mackay - Townsville area, Queensland, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal Pitjara/Bidjara ; Aboriginal Birri-Gubba Juru ; Aboriginal
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

Jackie Huggins was awarded the Queensland Premier's Award for Excellence in Indigenous Affairs in 2000, and became a Member in the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the Indigenous community in 2001. These awards highlight her passionate and continuing dedication to the causes of reconciliation, social justice, literacy and women's issues within Indigenous communities.

As Deputy Director of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland, Huggins brings a wide experience to her teaching and research. She has been involved in many community, government and educational organisations at local, state and national levels, ranging from reconciliation and Aboriginal welfare forums to continuing appointments on editorial and performing arts boards. A leading Indigenous academic, Huggins is known internationally for her work as an author, historian and activist. The University of Queensland honoured this work in 2006 by awarding Huggins an honorary doctorate and in 2007 she was named University of Queensland Alumnus of the Year.

Huggins has also been Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work and Human Services at The University of Queensland, spokesperson for the Recognise campaign, co-chair of Reconciliation Australia, chair of the Queensland Domestic Violence Council, a member of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and the AIATSIS Council, and co-commissioner for Queensland for the Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal Children.

Huggins has written widely on issues of concern to Indigenous communities, including challenging articles on the relationship between Indigenous women and feminism. In 1993 she was commissioned to write a play for the then Contact Youth Theatre (Aboriginal Program). Entitled 'Maarkkings', a story about history, adaptation and survival, the play was performed in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Copenhagen (Denmark) and other parts of Europe. The theatre company has evolved into the very successful Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts organisation which brings Indigenous issues to mainstream theatres and schools. Huggins remains on the board of Kooemba Jdarra.

The highly regarded auto/biography of her mother, Auntie Rita (1994), which she co-authored with Rita Cynthia Huggins, was published in 1994. A collection or her political writings, Sister Girl, appeared in 1998.

Jackie Huggins was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor at Central Queensland University in 2017.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Conference papers:

    • "Miminis, Kudjeris, Kungas and Tiddas: An Australian Aboriginal Woman's Experience.", First Indigenous Women's Conference, 'Finding Common Ground', Adelaide, Australia, 7-18 July 1989.

Personal Awards

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Jack of Hearts : QX11594 Broome : Magabala Books , 2022 23948693 2022 single work biography

'Born an only child in North Queensland, Jack Huggins had an idyllic childhood in Ayr, where his family somehow escaped the harsh Queensland government treatment of  First Nations’ peoples. His father was in the army in World War I and Jack followed in his footsteps into World War II. He was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and spent much of the war on the notorious Burma-Thailand railway.

'The narrative and personal reflections give insight into love, loss and the need to understand one man’s journey, as seen through the eyes of his children seeking to learn more. It is an affectionate portrait and a moving account of courage in wartime which helps a reader understand the sacrifices made by our soldiers.'  (Publication summary)

2023 longlisted The Stella Prize
y separately published work icon Auntie Rita Canberra : Aboriginal Studies Press , 1994 Z126649 1994 single work biography (taught in 9 units)

"Most people call me Auntie Rita, whites as well as Aboriginal people. Auntie is a term of respect of our older women folk. You don't have to be blood-related or anything. Everyone is kin. That's a beautiful thing because in this way no one is ever truly alone, they always have someone they can turn to."

Rita Huggins told her memories to her daughter Jackie, and some of their conversation is in this book. We witness their intimacy, their similarities and their differences, the '"fighting with their tongues". Two voices, two views on a shared life.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

1996 winner Stanner Award
1995 shortlisted Kibble Literary Awards Nita Kibble Literary Award
Last amended 10 Apr 2019 08:30:49
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X