Analysis Essay on We Are Going by Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Oodgeroo Noonuccal the author of We Are Going, was a black rights activist, poet, environmentalist, and educator. She was born on November 3, 1920, in Bulimba, Brisbane. Noonuccal was a leader in the battle for indigenous rights in Australia. The poem examines the impact of British conquest on indigenous Australians, their way of life, and the natural world. It is noticeable that We Are Going depicts the significance of their land and how it is being taken away from the indigenous, and this is accomplished through use of poetic techniques, emotional language, and imagery. 

The metaphor that the estate agent is publicly encouraging the community to deposit waste on the Indigenous tribe's unique, “we are the bora ring,” which lays unused and forgotten in their absence. It is at the heart of the poem's symbolism of dispossession and cultural disinheritance. The Europeans are compared to ants, as if though their drone-like behaviour keeps them from recognising the tribe's presence in town. This means the Europeans are scattering around the first Australians land. 'We are as strangers here now, but the white tribe are the strangers.’ This simile affectively describes how no one really knows where they are and how all there sacred meanings and dream time stories are fading away as the European’s take over the land. 

The imagery in this poem portrays a 'garbage dump.' It demonstrates that the British colonisers mistreated the indigenous.  The aboriginal artwork successfully portrays a concept of how life used to be, emphasising their connection to the land, nature, and their dreamtime stories. The text's imagery is employed in a variety of ways, combining description and monologue. The imagery concentrates on how everything appears to be cultured with a town's ‘subdued band’ the imagery used helps the reader visualise how the land was being treated further linking back to the theme of connection to land.  

In the last line Oodgeroo Noonuccal uses a strong phrase We Are Going. This phase almost seems as if witnessing a tale being told. They also employ terms like ‘corroboree’ and ‘Dream Time’ that are indigenous to the area. This is consistent with the poet's background and the concept of ‘belonging’ to a language and people. Using unique phrases, this puts more emphasis on each line and creates a more powerful meaning.   

Therefore, Oodgeroo Noonuccal's poem We Are Going powerfully illustrates the colonization of indigenous land and explains how they are outsiders in their own land. She was a key figure for the Australian campaign for indigenous rights. The poem mentions the fact that the first Australians are outsiders in their own country. and their way of life. Poetic methods, emotive language, and imagery are used to achieve the poem We Are Going.