A new book celebrating and acknowledging the diversity and success of First Nations People will be hitting the shelves from Wednesday, June 7.
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Proud Kamilaroi man and Port Macquarie local Corey Tutt OAM's new book This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! features the profiles of 80 First Nations People doing great things across sport, art, activism, science, politics, education and literature.
It also features illustrations by First Nations artist Molly Hunt.
Mr Tutt said his idea for the book came to him when he was flying from Port Macquarie to Sydney. He wanted to showcase the incredible work of First Nations People who have inspired him.
"We tend to recognise Aboriginal people when they're good at sport or music, but there's so many amazing people in our community that move heaven and earth for their community," he said.
"With this book I really wanted to showcase these people and celebrate what they've done."
Mr Tutt interviewed the 80 people for the book including some well-known names such as Cathy Freeman, Greg Inglis, uncle Archie Roach, Blak Douglas, Christine Anu, Ash Barty and Uncle Bill O'Brien.
"I'm proud that local Birpai man Uncle Bill O'Brien is in the book. We all know as locals what he does for our community," Mr Tutt said.
"When we talk about Ash Barty winning the Australian Open, to me that's not the only reason why she's deadly. I think she's deadly because she's humble and cares about her family.
"I wanted to show this through the profiles in the book, that these people have so many qualities that make them special."
The book aims to inspire future generations to create change and to celebrate the incredible achievements of First Nations People.
"We need to celebrate Blak excellence so that when young people pick up this book they see these qualities in themselves and they realise that they are also deadly," Mr Tutt said.
Mr Tutt said his favourite part of the book is one of the last pages.
"There's a page in the back where you can put a photo of someone in there yourself and write down the reasons why that person is deadly. That's what the book is about, celebrating all of our achievements and contributions," he said.
Mr Tutt founded DeadlyScience in 2018 while working as a research assistant at the University of Sydney. The not-for-profit organisation aims to encourage young Indigenous people to pursue STEM subjects.
"I write books for the impact that they have on individuals," he said.
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