{{Short description|Indigenous Australian historian and writer}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person |name = Jackie Huggins |honorific_suffix = {{post nominals|country=AUS|AM|FAHA|size=100%}} |image = Gary Oliver at the 10th Anniversary National Apology Parliamentary Breakfast. (cropped).jpg |caption = Huggins in 2018 |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|8|19|df=yes}} |birth_place = Ayr, Queensland |other_names = |mother = Rita Huggins |known_for = |occupation = Author, Aboriginal rights activist, historian }}
'''Jacqueline Gail''' "'''Jackie'''" '''Huggins''' (born 19 August 1956) is an Aboriginal Australian author, historian, academic, and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She has been active in the reconciliation movement, and was co-commissioner for Queensland for the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families from 1995 to 1997. Until 2017, she was deputy director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at the University of Queensland. She co-chaired the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples until 2019, when she was appointed co-chair of Queensland Government's Treaty Working Group and Eminent Treaty Process Panel. She has also served on many other boards and organisations in various capacities, and published several books. In April 2025, Huggins was appointed as the inaugural Elder-in-residence at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
==Early life and education== Jacqueline Gail Huggins was born in Ayr, Queensland, on 19 August 1956, the daughter of Jack and Rita Huggins. She is an Aboriginal Australian woman of the Bidjara/Pitjara, Birri Gubba, and Juru peoples of Queensland. Her family moved to Inala in Brisbane when she was young and she attended Inala State High School.<ref name=encycwomen/>
The family was poor, and her father, Jack, died aged 38 from injuries sustained when working on the Thai-Burma railway as a prisoner of war during World War II.<ref name=corowa2025/> Huggins, with her sister Ngaire Jarro, wrote the story of their father, Jack, who spent three years as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II, and was forced to work along with around 13,000 others on the Burma-Thailand railway. The book, entitled ''Jack of Hearts: QX11594'', was published in 2022. Jack was not treated badly upon his return, as many Aboriginal soldiers were, and became the first Aboriginal man to work for Australia Post, the first Aboriginal surf lifesaver in Ayr in the 1930s, and the only Indigenous man to play rugby league both before and after the war.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Stanton | first1=Tanisha | last2=Armbruster | first2=Stefan | title=Black Digger's extraordinary tale of survival on 'Death Railway' | website=NITV| date=21 April 2022 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/04/21/black-diggers-extraordinary-tale-survival-death-railway | access-date=22 May 2022}}</ref>
Huggins left school at age 15 to assist her family<ref name=encycwomen/> and from the age of 16<ref name=corowa2025>{{cite web | last=Corowa | first=Miriam | title=Professor Jackie Huggins joins the ABC as Elder-in-residence and wants broadcaster to become a 'blueprint' of cultural safety | website=ABC News | date=15 April 2025 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-16/jackie-huggins-elder-in-residence-abc-listen-loudly-act-strongly/105178580 | access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> worked as a typist with the Australian Broadcasting Commission at Toowong, Queensland, from 1972.<ref name=encycwomen/>
Huggins enrolled at the University of Queensland in 1985, graduating with a BA (Hons) in history and anthropology in 1987.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://alumni.uq.edu.au/story/1282/dr-jacqueline-jackie-huggins-am|title=Dr Jacqueline (Jackie) Huggins AM|date=2015-11-02|work=Alumni & Community|publisher=University of Queensland|access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref> She earned a Diploma of Education (Aboriginal Education) in 1988. Part of her practical training included eight weeks teaching in Ti-Tree, north of Alice Springs. Huggins completed an honours degree in history/women's studies (1989) from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.<ref name=encycwomen />
==Career== At the age of 16, in 1972, Huggins started working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a typist at Toowong, Queensland. In 1978 she joined the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) in Canberra.<ref name=encycwomen/> There she met several Aboriginal activists, including Charles Perkins and his "angels": Vince Copley, John Moriarty, Joe Croft, Ben Mason, and others. She was often the only Indigenous woman in the room, which helped her career.<ref name=corowa2025/> In 1980 she returned to Brisbane and was a field officer in the DAA.<ref name=encycwomen>{{cite book| editor=The Australian Women's Archives Project |isbn =978-0-7340-4873-8 | title=The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia | url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0545b.htm|chapter=Huggins, Jacqueline (Jackie) Gail (1956–)|first=Sharon M.|last =Harrison|access-date=15 August 2020 }}</ref> She was appointed head of the first women's unit when she was 28 (around 1984), overseeing around 50 women.<ref name=corowa2025/> Evelyn Scott, chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, was a mentor to Huggins.<ref name=corowa2025/>
Huggins was the chair of the Queensland Domestic Violence Council, co-commissioner for Queensland for the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families (1995–1997) and a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the AIATSIS Council,<ref name =grossman/> and the National NAIDOC Committee (1979–1983).<ref name=encycwomen/> In 2001 Huggins became co-chair of Reconciliation Australia<ref name=corowa2025/> (with Fred Chaney and Mark Leibler).<ref name=encycwomen/> and the Review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)<ref name=rc/> in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/15/1081998279884.html |title=Clark vows to fight as ATSIC scrapped |access-date=14 August 2020 |date=15 April 2004 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> She has also served on many other boards and organisations in various capacities.<ref name=encycwomen/>
She has published a wide range of essays and studies dealing with Indigenous history and identity. She is the author of ''Sistergirl'' (1998), and co-author, with her mother Rita, of the critically acclaimed biography ''Auntie Rita'' (1994).<ref name =grossman>{{Cite book | last=Grossman | first=Michele | title=Blacklines: Contemporary Critical Writing by Indigenous Australians | year=2003 | publisher=Melbourne University Press | location=Carlton, Victoria| isbn=978-0-522-85069-7}}</ref>
Huggins was a member of the working party involved in the creation of the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN) in 2012,<ref name=overland>{{cite web | last=Reed-Gilbert | first=Kerry | title=A short history of the First Nations Australia Writers Network|author-link=Kerry Reed-Gilbert | work=Overland| date=13 July 2018 | url=https://overland.org.au/2018/07/a-short-history-of-the-first-nations-australia-writers-network/ | access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref> and {{as of|lc=yes|2021}} remains patron of the organisation.<ref>{{cite web | title=Board | website=First Nations Australia Writers Network | url=http://www.fnawn.com.au/home/team/ | access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref>
Huggins was deputy director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at the University of Queensland until 2017, and then co-chaired the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples with Rod Little until 2019.<ref name=rc>{{cite web|url=https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/share-your-story/first-nations-people/first-nations-peoples-strategic-advisory-group/dr-jackie-huggins|title=Dr Jackie Huggins AM FAHA, Co-Chair Eminent Panel and Working Group, Pathway to Treaty QLD|website=Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability|access-date=14 August 2020|archive-date=12 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112161828/https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/share-your-story/first-nations-people/first-nations-peoples-strategic-advisory-group/dr-jackie-huggins|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2019, after the Queensland Government announced its interest in pursuing a pathway to an Indigenous treaty process,<ref name="abc-qld-july2019">{{cite news |last1=Siganto |first1=Talissa |title='Long time coming': Queensland commits to Indigenous treaty process |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-14/queensland-government-indigenous-treaty-process-promise/11307682 |access-date=14 July 2019 |work=ABC News|date=14 July 2019}}</ref> the Treaty Working Group and Eminent Treaty Process Panel were set up, with Huggins and Michael Lavarch co-chairing the Eminent Panel. Their ''Path to Treaty Report'' was tabled in Queensland Parliament in February 2020.<ref>{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Douglas | title=QLD Government receives treaty recommendations after months of consultations | website=NITV|publisher=SBS| date=10 February 2020 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/02/10/qld-government-receives-treaty-recommendations-after-months-consultations | access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref> Huggins said that a process of truth-telling, acknowledging the history of Australia, is a "vital component to moving on".<ref>{{cite web | title=Truth-telling guides next steps on Queensland's historic Path to Treaty | website=Mirage News | date=10 February 2020 | url=https://www.miragenews.com/truth-telling-guides-next-steps-on-queensland-s-historic-path-to-treaty/ | access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref> On 13 August 2020, the government announced that it would be supporting the recommendation to move forward on a path to treaty with First Nations Queenslanders.<ref>{{cite web | title=Queensland Government's historic commitment to Treaty-making process | website=Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory|first1=Annastacia|last1=Palaszczuk|author1-link=Annastacia Palaszczuk|first2=Craig|last2=Crawford|author2-link=Craig Crawford (politician)|date=13 August 2020 | url=https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/90413 | access-date=14 August 2020}} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] licence.</ref>
In April 2025, Huggins was appointed as the inaugural ABC Elder-in-residence. In this role, she will mentor Indigenous staff members and stand up for them.<ref name=corowa2025/>
==Recognition== *1996: ''Auntie Rita'' won the 1996 Stanner Award for Indigenous Literature from AIATSIS.<ref name=encycwomen/> *2000: Queensland Premier's Millennium Award for Excellence in Indigenous Affairs<ref name=encycwomen/> *2001: Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her work with Indigenous people, particularly in reconciliation, literacy, women's issues and social justice.<ref name =grossman/><ref name=encycwomen/> *2001: Centenary Medal for distinguished service to the community through the promotion of reconciliation<ref name=encycwomen/> *2006: Doctor of the University of Queensland ''honoris causa''<ref name=encycwomen/> *2007: Fellow the Australian Academy of Humanities<ref name=encycwomen/> * 2007: University of Queensland Alumnus of the Year<ref name =grossman/> * 2022: John Oxley Library Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Oxley Library Award |url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/get-involved/awards-and-fellowships/queensland-memory-awards/john-oxley-library-award |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=State Library of Queensland |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== Huggins' son was born in 1985.<ref name=encycwomen />
She is a longtime friend of actor, director, and arts executive Rhoda Roberts, who in 2021 was appointed Elder-in-residence at Australia's other public broadcaster, SBS.<ref name=corowa2025/>
==Selected works== *{{cite journal | last=Huggins | first=Jackie|display-authors=0 | title=Always was always will be | journal=Australian Historical Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=25 | issue=100 | year=1993 | issn=1031-461X | doi=10.1080/10314619308595927 | pages=459–464|ref=none}} *{{cite book | last1=Huggins | first1=R. | last2=Huggins | first2=Jackie|display-authors=0 | title=Auntie Rita | publisher=Aboriginal Studies Press | year=1994 | isbn=978-0-85575-248-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ySEAwAAQBAJ|ref=none}} *{{cite book | last=Huggins | first=Jackie|display-authors=0 | title=Sister Girl: The Writings of Aboriginal Activist and Historian Jackie Huggins | publisher=University of Queensland Press | series=UQP Black Australian writers | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-7022-2840-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzqVxxM6q8gC|ref=none}} *{{cite book | last=Huggins | first=J. |display-authors=0 | title=Working the Walk: Activating Reconciliation | publisher=University of New England | series=Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture Series | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-86389-784-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07CAAAAAMAAJ|ref=none}}
===As co-author=== * {{Citation|last1=McGrath|first1=Ann| author1-link= Ann McGrath |title=Aboriginal Workers|publication-date=1995|publisher=Australian Society for the Study of Labour History |isbn=978-0-909944-04-9| last2=Saunders| first2=Kay|authorlink2=Kay Saunders |last3=Huggins|first3=Jackie |author3-link =Jackie Huggins|year=1995}} ([https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/history-of-indigenous-work-sheds-light-on-australian-slavery Reissued in 2020].<ref>{{cite web | title=Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History | website=Liverpool University Press | date=30 November 2020 | url=http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/books/id/54770/ | access-date=6 January 2022 | archive-date=23 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123010045/https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/books/id/54770/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>) *{{cite book | last1=Jeeves | first1=J. | last2=Huggins | first2=J. | author3=Reconciliation Australia (Organisation) | last4=Sanderson | first4=J.M. | title=The Reconciliation Journey | publisher=Macmillan Education Australia | series=Reconciliation in Australia | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4202-6729-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKxn3cyiGJUC|ref=none}} *{{cite book | last1=Booth | first1=G. | last2=Huggins | first2=J. | last3=Thodey | first3=D. | last4=Rigney | first4=L.I. | last5=Ganley | first5=L. | last6=Glanville | first6=J. | last7=Pearson | first7=L. | last8=O'Leary | first8=T. | title=Making the Connection: Essays on Indigenous Digital Excellence | publisher=Fontaine Publishing Group | year=2014 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vianBQAAQBAJ |display-authors=2|ref=none}} * {{Cite book|title=Jack of Hearts: QX11594|publication-date=1 April 2022 |publisher=Magabala Books |isbn=978-1-922613-12-7 |last1=Huggins|first1=Jackie |last2= Jarro| first2=Ngaire| url=https://www.magabala.com/products/jack-of-hearts-qx11594}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite web|url=http://eniar.org/news/Huggins.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010202448/http://www.eniar.org/news/Huggins.html|title= Indigenous good governance begins with communities and institutions|publisher=Eniar|date=13 October 2003|first=Jackie|last=Huggins|archive-date=10 October 2009|ref=none}} *{{cite interview | interviewer-last=Fidler | interviewer-first=Richard|interviewer-link=Richard Fidler| title=Jackie Huggins pioneers positive change for Indigenous Australians | work=Conversations with Richard Fidler (ABC Radio National)|first=Jackie|last=Huggins | date=14 December 2011 | url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/12/14/3390847.htm |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ref=none}} *{{cite web | title=Jackie Huggins | website=On Line Opinion | url=https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=1340}} – Links to 4 articles by Huggins, 2003–2004.
{{Indigenous Australians}} {{Feminism}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huggins, Jackie}} Category:1956 births Category:Australian biographers Category:Australian historians Category:Australian women historians Category:Bidjara (Warrego River) Category:Flinders University alumni Category:Indigenous Australian writers Category:Living people Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:University of Queensland alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Queensland Category:Writers from Queensland Category:Australian women biographers Category:Australian feminist writers Category:Indigenous Australian feminists Category:Australian feminists Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Category:People from Ayr, Queensland