Abstract
In our writing, we voice stories of two Australian rivers to convey
Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Interweaving academic literature,
nature writing and creativity, we craft a story of reconnection that is
transformative, action-oriented and potentially political. An open mind,
place-intuition and the process of attending can deepen our river
relationships, creating a sense of love and communicative connectedness.
Paying deep attention, we notice meanings embedded in plain sight,
within hearing range of rivers and watery places. Our relationships may
be ‘in our faces’ such as the wind, or the air, water or bushes nearby.
We communicate across binaries to experience the dissolution of imagined
barriers. Feeling, hearing, writing and storytelling can support
verbalising of experience, helping to bring to mind place-wisdom. It
offers an everyday possibility for people now estranged from their
riverine kin. The process uses a post human-centred, common worlds frame
to consider the Anthropocene in regenerative ways. It is creative and
liberating, and rivers are dying for people to take action by speaking
out for and with our greater selves. In this learning journey, we
synthesise learnings, hoping to inspire people everywhere to hear the
call of rivers, to respond, take action and learn to love their rivers
again.