The Yield

The Yield contains three alternating narratives. In the first, Albert Gondiwindi—an Aboriginal Australian man—writes a non-linear record of his life by defining words in the Wiradjuri language. Albert is dying of cancer and wants to leave behind a message for future generations. When Albert was young, he and his mother and sister, Mary, were taken to a Christian Mission along the Murrumby River, which has since dried up. At the moment of his death, Albert feels the ancestors are calling him to let go.

Albert begins writing his dictionary, working backward from Y. As a child living at the Mission, Albert was separated from his family and housed in the Boys’ Home. There, he was taught to assimilate into White Christian culture. Despite this indoctrination, Albert claims he was visited by Gondiwindi ancestors who taught him about Aboriginal Australian culture and beliefs. He recalls the war between Aboriginal Australians and European settlers who invaded and destroyed the land. The resultant violence earned the nearby town of Massacre Plains its name. He hopes his words will reveal the truth of the Gondiwindis’ family history.

Albert describes doing farm-work after the Mission became a government-owned Station. He met Elsie and they settled in Prosperous, where they nurtured the land according to the ancestors’ agricultural practices. Based on his spiritual visitations, Albert wholeheartedly believes that everything in the world is connected and alive. While he and Elsie ran programs for other Aboriginal Australians at Prosperous, Albert laments that their efforts were not enough to stave off widespread addiction and depression—consequences of generational trauma. Likewise, he is grateful for the chance to raise his granddaughters, August and Jedda, but feels he failed them.

In the second narrative, Albert’s granddaughter, August Gondiwindi, learns of his death and travels to Australia. In an attempt to run from her past, August has lived abroad in England for 10 years. Back home now, August drives through the Australian interior, reflecting on the region’s widespread drought, poverty, and racism against Aboriginal Australians. Returning to her grandparents’ home at Prosperous Farm—the site of the old Mission—brings up memories of August’s sister, Jedda, who disappeared when they were young. August’s grandmother, Elsie, informs August that she is losing the house to the Rinepalm mining company, who are taking possession of the land. Remembering how she came to live with Elsie and Albert at Prosperous after her parents were arrested, August wonders if she belongs here.

August finds comfort and familiarity at Prosperous but also remembers the trauma she endured there. She reunites with her childhood sweetheart Eddie Falstaff, a White man whose family owns the farmland where the Gondiwindis live. Eddie lives across the wheat fields in Southerly House. He tells August that Albert was writing a book before he died. August’s Aunt Missy and Great-Aunt Mary arrive to help Elsie prepare for the funeral and eventual move. Visiting downtown Massacre Plains, August learns that, while some oppose Rinepalm’s encroachment on her family’s land, the majority of people hope the mines will bring jobs to the region. Elsie sees no way to claim the land is legally theirs.

On the day of Albert’s funeral, August meets a group of protesters (including Mandy) who are preparing to oppose the mine’s construction. More Gondiwindi relatives arrive, including Missy’s son Joey, who spent time in juvenile detention. Aunt Nicki—Albert and Elsie’s third daughter—works for the local council and denies there’s any hope of claiming Native Title on the farm. The family honors Albert and scatters his ashes over the land. A brolga (Australian crane) flies overhead and August senses it is Jedda’s spirit. She flashes back to the times Mary’s son Jimmy Corvette sexually abused her and Jedda. The next day, August visits the library and learns that Albert has several books about Australian history checked out. She finds Jedda’s things in the attic room, but no sign of her grandfather’s dictionary.

In his dictionary, Albert defines gudin (“dead man”) and confesses to spearing Jimmy Corvette in the leg, believing he abducted Jedda. Jimmy tells Albert that Jedda is “in the water,” implying she is dead. He dies of sepsis without telling anyone else about Jedda or Albert. Now, Albert plans to give the dictionary to his daughter, Nicki, trusting she will take it to the council.

In the present, August visits Eddie to discuss whether or not they can save the farm. They start to have sex but stop when August flashes back to memories of Jedda. Frustrated, Eddie confesses his desire to be rid of the farm, considering it an Aboriginal “slave yard.” Guilt-ridden, he gives August documents that prove his father stole and donated Aboriginal artifacts to various museums. August and Missy plan to retrieve the artifacts and use them to prove the land’s cultural significance. At the museum, Missy is disgusted with the way Aboriginal culture has been commodified and tokenized. The curator’s assistant tells August she has to book a viewing to access the artifacts. Missy and August return empty-handed to Prosperous, where the protesters have chained themselves to Rinepalm’s mining machinery and started a fire.

August takes Joey to confront Aunt Nicki, who she realizes must have stolen Albert’s dictionary. Because it’s late, Nicki turns them away. They return to Prosperous, where the fire has been extinguished. The next morning, August, Joey, and Missy join the protesters and chain themselves to the mine’s fence. Police tear-gas them. Later, a bulldozer uproots more trees just as Aunt Nicki arrives with Albert’s dictionary, revealing the terrible family secret he uncovered. The uprooted tree reveals an Aboriginal cemetery. This discovery and Albert’s Native Title application halt the mine’s construction. Six months later, rain returns to Massacre Plains, reinvigorating the land. August feels she finally belongs.

In the third narrative, interspersed throughout August’s storyline and Albert’s dictionary, Reverend Ferdinand Greenleaf—founder of Prosperous Mission—writes to the British ethnographer Dr. George Cross in 1915, begging for his help. The Australian government has taken control of the Mission and Greenleaf fears for his life. A Prussian refugee, Greenleaf saw how Aboriginal Australians were largely impoverished and abused by European settlers. He founded the Mission far from White society in the hope of providing refuge and converting the indigenous people. Over several years, Greenleaf constructed a livable compound and attracted a population of residents. Despite his good intentions, Greenleaf’s Mission also provoked the abuse of White settlers who wish to exploit and abuse Aboriginal Australians.

Greenleaf describes the escalating violence against Aboriginal Australians and the Mission. Invaders kidnapped some women and killed a male resident, Wowhely. The settlers’ hatred baffled Greenleaf, whose community was already struggling financially. In 1892, Greenleaf accepted an invitation to the World’s Fair in Chicago, hoping to secure donors. But in 1909, the Aborigines Protection Board ordered all but full-blood Aboriginal Australians to be forced into servitude. Greenleaf tried to protect them but, as Britain declared war on Germany, he was sent to an internment camp. He concludes his letter in captivity, where he ultimately dies. Later, an Australian newspaper serializes Greenleaf’s letter, earning sympathy from readers.

Albert’s final entries voice his desire to speak up for Aboriginal Australians, who he believes will always exist in a place beyond the living and the dead. He hopes his dictionary can help preserve his people’s history and culture.