Games and invasion: Accounts of lived experience from First Nations writers, artists, and researchers

This chapter examines the role of games and play for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In conversation, two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women share their lived experience as writers, artists, and researchers. They consider games in childhood and games in western cultures and from their cultures. What is the difference between games and play? Is there a difference? How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and languages valued? How do games and play fit within and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldview and culture? How are games and play a part of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity? These questions are explored further. Poems are situated alongside personal narratives and reflections. This chapter showcases two voices in a complex area of knowledge and epistemological concern. It concludes with questions for the reader on what the future holds.