Keeper (ATOM Study Guide)

Growing up in a small town divided by mining disputes isn't easy, but for Aboriginal teenager Jacinta Haseldine it's a stark contrast to her grandmother's life at the same age growing up on a mission.

Keeper is the story of two Aboriginal women living in the small town of Ceduna on the far west coast of South Australia. Sixteen year-old Jacinta Haseldine is a high school student, as interested in hip hop as she is hunting wombats and kangaroos. Her grandmother Sue Coleman Haseldine, born and raised on a mission, has taken Jacinta out bush her whole life to teach her to find medicinal plants and take care of sacred rockholes.

When more than twenty mining companies start drilling nearby for gold, uranium and mineral sands, Jacinta and Sue's family becomes bitterly divided over million-dollar Native Title deals.

For Sue, who spent her childhood running away out bush to escape the welfare authorities, and Jacinta, a teenager who just wants her family to stay together, growing up means many different things.