1. Citizenship
2. Collage
3. Empathy
4. First Nations people
5. Friendship
6. History
7. Human rights
8. Law
9. Literary techniques
10. Racism
11. Social life and customs
12. Visual literacy

On May 27, 1967, non- Indigenous Australians voted in a very important referendum that asked if they approved changes to two sections of the Australian constitution that related to Aboriginal Australians. Up until this time, Aboriginal Australians were not counted in the Census like all the other people living in Australia and the Federal Government laws that provided important services to the Australian people such as hospitals, schools and housing did not include providing those same services to Aboriginal Australians.

‘Say Yes’ is an easy-to-follow introduction to the background of the 1967 referendum. The story uses the experience of two young girls, who are best friends, one white and the other Aboriginal. Their greatest joy is sharing things with each other but that is repeatedly denied when Mandy’s Indigenous background prevents her from swimming in the town pool or attending the same school or even sitting together at the movies. We learn that Mandy’s mother is prevented from travelling to see her sick mother without special permission from the Government.

The illustrations are mainly pen and ink black and white with the little colour use, the main exception being the psychedelic sixties style prints on the shift dresses of the two girls. These are repeated in a meaningful way on the book’s endpapers. The use of large bold fonts to emphasise certain words and phrases add to the drama and historical significance of the referendum.

Interwoven with the story are archival photographs of people who supported change, newspaper clippings, a Vote Yes flyer, the actual Voting form, and a page citing the relevant sections of the Constitution involved in the vote. Some historical details of rules and policies related to the treatment of Aboriginal Australians are included at the end of the book.

Many Australians are unaware of our history, of how the law has treated our First Nations people. In this book we see the discrimination, the racism, and the lack of human rights that Australian law imposed on Australia’s Indigenous Peoples.

And the vote - it was overwhelmingly 90% YES!

Paul Seden is descended from the Wuthathi and Muralag people of North Queensland.

1. Allen & Unwin ‘Say Yes. A Story of Friendship, Fairness and a Vote for Hope’ includes a link to Teaching Notes created by Robyn Sheehan-Bright https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Jennifer-Castles,-with-illustrations-by-Paul-Seden-Say-Yes-9781760294670
2. ABC 7.30 Report April 26, 2017, Leigh Sales presents the story behind ‘Say Yes. A story of friendship, fairness and a vote for hope’ by Jennifer Castles including comments from the creators, YouTube created 30 June 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zu2i5MbdY4
3. Reading Time May 17, 2017. Julie Murphy reviews ‘Say Yes. A Story of Friendship, Fairness and a Vote for Hope’ by Jennifer Castles http://readingtime.com.au/say-yes-story-friendship-fairness-vote-hope/
4. Lamont Books April 2017. Brief teaching notes for ‘Say Yes. A Story of Friendship, Fairness and a Vote for Hope’ by Jennifer Castles https://www.lamontbooks.com.au/media/93178/april-2017-ps-say-yes-a-story-of-friendship-fairness-and-a-vote-for-hope.pdf
5. Deadly Story ‘The 1967 Referendum’ https://www.deadlystory.com/page/culture/history/The_1967_Referendum
6. National Museum of Australia. ‘Referendum, 1957-67’ https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/indigenous-rights/civil-rights/referendum
7. The Conversation May 26, 2017. Russell McGregor ‘Right wrongs, write Yes’: what was the 1967 referendum all about? https://theconversation.com/right-wrongs-write-yes-what-was-the-1967-referendum-all-about-76512