ABSTRACT
Tara June Winch's The Yield explores the fundamental importance of Indigenous languages—in this case, the Wiradjuri language—for the regeneration of land. In the context of the currently pressing national crises of the Adani mine and the Murray–Darling River use, The Yield addresses the commodification of land and water, the cheapening of ‘nature’ and the deep history of exploited labour, serfdom and slavery shaping Australia today. Yet beyond an analysis of oppression and environmental crisis, this chapter points to the transformative and regenerative agenda of the novel: The Yield conveys that what is needed is ‘care-full’ labour to revitalise Indigenous language, culture and land. This includes revised understandings of grains, crops, soil and water from commodified ‘things’ to agents in a cosmic order and a holistic understanding of environment, society and individual. By incorporating the Wiradjuri language, the novel makes an important contribution to understanding the crucial role of language not only for Australian colonisation, but also for its regeneration.
