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Forming
partnerships: Recognising
and acknowledging students' cultures and heritage
 The secret of success
with these ventures seems to be in making them open and accessible
to all students, an inclusive resource which is shared by
the whole school with pride.
- Groome and Hamilton (1995: 41)
The key messages
- Explore ways of recognising local Indigenous people's
long-term custodianship of the land your institution is
on and on which students live.
Immanuel
College in the suburbs of Adelaide has found one very public
way of doing that.
What is it?…
- Display local Indigenous art and artefacts or other
public signs and symbols (the flags, murals, posters, charters,
land rights information and so on) that Indigenous people
appreciate and that are a sign of the institution's acknowledgment
of their cultures.
Cultural
reference can be as simple as ensuring that visual displays
include Indigenous items, confirming that institutions acknowledge
the presence of Indigenous students and recognise their cultural
heritage.
Darlington
Public School in inner Sydney provides a striking example.
More
about Darlington...
- Ensure resources and courses include appropriate Indigenous
perspectives.
As I Remember is one of an increasing number of oral
histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
which are available. Rachel Quillerat was one of the participants.
When
I was at school we had an English teacher, and that English
teacher he taught us all about England. Everything that happened
over there. … But there was no history of Tasmania, nothing
on Aboriginals, nothing on what happened years ago to the
Aboriginal people. We didn't even know. That's why it is important
for kids to have access to this today.
More of what Auntie Rachel has to say…
Nidja
Noongar Boodjar Noonook Nyininy ('This is Noongar land
you are sitting in') is a package of materials designed to
support literacy and numeracy among children. They are distinctive
in their range and for the way in which they render contemporary
life for Aboriginal people in one part of Australia.
More about the kit…
In
the Kimberley in Western Australia, the Catholic Education
Office has been responsible for the production of an innovative
DVD which uses music and dance to share aspects of culture.
More
about the DVD...
- Consider including study of Indigenous languages in
the school program.
Language
is a fundamental part of personal and cultural identity.
More
about why Indigenous languages are important…
The
Ganai project has developed language resources in Gippsland.
Read
about the project…
At Wulungarra Community School
in the Kimberley, senior community members teach Walmajarri
language alongside the school’s strong literacy and
numeracy programs.
More
about Wulungarra...
- These actions are related. They need to be done
together. Beyond that, they are only a part of wider action.
Narrabundah Primary School in the ACT shows how such actions
can snowball and grow into effective action.
More
about Narrabundah…
And at Cairns West State School, which has large enrolments
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, a range
of programs is in place.
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