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The Miriam Rose Foundation is a charity dedicated to improving lives and creating opportunities for a brighter future for Indigenous children and youth in Australia.

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Brian Robinson - Torres Strait Islander

Printmaker

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Brian Robinson
Born 1973, Waiben (Thursday Island)
Community: Moa and Wuthathi tribal groups
Language groups: Kala Lagaw Ya and Torres Strait Creole

Bedhan Lag: Land of the Kaiwalagal 2019
linocut; edition 5/10; printed by Theo Tremblay, Editions Tremblay
Geelong Gallery
Ursula Hoff Institute award, 2019
Courtesy of the artist
Photographer: Michael Marzik

Brian Robinson is originally from the Torres Strait Islands, located between the tip of Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea. He is particularly influenced by the traditional motifs and natural carving ability of the islanders, who have a long tradition of etching and mark making. ⁠
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In Bedhan Lag: Land of the Kaiwalagal 2019, the artist blends this cultural influence with western art printmaking traditions to depict stories of land control battles, such as the 1770 possession of the Australian Eastern Coast.⁠⁠
Exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories-A Geelong Gallery collection resource (PDF, 2.37 MB)

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Brian RobinsonBorn 1973, Waiben (Thursday Island)Community: Moa and Wuthathi tribal groupsLanguage groups: Kala Lagaw Ya and Torres Strait Creole Bedhan Lag: Land of the Kaiwalagal 2019linocut; edition 5/10; printed by Theo Tremblay, Editions TremblayGeelong GalleryUrsula Hoff Institute award, 2019Courtesy of the artistPhotographer: Michael Marzik Brian Robinson is originally from the Torres Strait Islands, located between the tip of Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea.

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/australias-western-desert-art-movement-turns-50-180980067/#:~:text=Papunya%20was%20a%20study%20in,Papunya's%20inhabitants%20died%20from%20illness.

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Australia’s Western Desert Art Movement Turns 50

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Since 1972, hundreds of artists have painted under the guidance of Papunya Tula, one of the most respected players in the world of Indigenous art

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scPVu7BASeA

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Using a social justice issue as a prompt for art making

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Using a social justice issue as a prompt for art making

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Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Gallery and the classroom

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Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Gallery and the classroom

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https://aiatsis.gov.au/publication/116485

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Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Gallery and the classroom

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Resources to support Aboriginal perspectives in the curriculum

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Fantastic resource. This isn't the whole book, but curated section of the best bits that we can apply to the classroom. Equally worth it to buy your own copy.

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Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the classroom

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Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the classroom

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https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=3941

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What does effective teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students look like? Thousands of research studies have been dedicated to finding answers to this question. But much of what we think we know, or hear, about Indigenous education remains mired in myths and legends.

Governments have been surprisingly frank about the failure of their Closing The Gap policies to deliver better health, education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The search for better ways continues.

My colleagues and I are particularly interested in looking for what works in Aboriginal education, and most importantly, how do we know what works?

As part of the larger 'Aboriginal Voices' project we decided to analyse research studies on Aboriginal education from 2006-2017. We carried out several systematic literature reviews following rigorous and replicable protocols across a range of key issues.

The review I want to tell you about is one that looked for evidence of pedagogies that engage, support and improve the educational outcomes of Indigenous students.

This review sorted through approximately 2000 research studies and, after applying the systematic review inclusion/exclusion protocols, analysed the remaining 53 research studies.

So, what did we find?
Most studies are localised small-scale qualitative case studies focused on engagement
Most research studies were localised small-scale qualitative case studies producing evidence of successful programs that engaged and/or supported Indigenous students in the classroom and in many cases, these were the aims of the program. The assumption appears to be that if Indigenous students are engaged in their learning then their educational outcomes will improve but without empirical evidence to support this, this can only be considered as conjecture.
Wholesale literacy and numeracy programs where Indigenous students are a subset
Eighteen research studies identified pedagogical approaches for specific skills such as literacy and numeracy revealing mixed results in terms of success. In many of these studies, Indigenous students were a subset of a larger group usually connected by socio-economic status (SES), achievement levels and location. Any successes reported in these programs occurred for all students and therefore did not shed light on any specific pedagogical approaches that improved Indigenous student outcomes.

Not surprisingly research studies that focus on practical skill improvements like literacy and numeracy tend to receive large-scale funding as results are more readily quantifiable and reportable in terms of government policy priorities. Moreover, programmatic approaches to literacy and numeracy appear to have become the default approach for Aboriginal student learning in preparation for vocational pathways.
Specific pedagogies identified as effective
Yes we did find 21 studies of pedagogies identified as effective in improving Aboriginal student engagement, support and /or educational outcomes.

Most described effective, innovative pedagogies such as

'Pedagogies of wonder'. This involves adults listening to the wonder of the children about their own history, culture and context and trusting children to research this rich resource.

Generative pedagogies Here, culturally safe spaces were created for Indigenous girls to engage with their everyday experiences of oppression, through writing.

Place-based pedagogies (also here) that take students out of the classroom and onto 'country' and involve Rangers, teachers and community members in a collaborative approach to teaching and learning were successful in engaging students .

pedagogies prioritising local Aboriginal voices that involve listening to voices in the community and understanding the values and cultural elements that inform students in their engagement with a formal education context.

These teaching methods engaged and supported Aboriginal students rather than 'improved educational outcomes' and while it could be argued that culturally responsive approaches such as these create conditions for improving educational outcomes, there was no empirical evidence to make this causal connection.

The seminal extensive research project Systemic Implications of Pedagogy and Achievement in NSW public schools (SIPA) provides an exception. While Aboriginal students were a subset of a larger group, researchers focussed on results for specific groups, coding and measuring student assessment tasks utilising the NSW Quality Teaching Framework [QTF].

In terms of outcomes, researchers provided solid evidence that high quality assessment tasks not only improved all students results but contributed to closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. While not identifying specific pedagogies to improve educational outcomes, they noted pedagogical approaches that contributed to poor outcomes particularly for Aboriginal and low SES students such as 'defensive teaching', low expectations and a focus on behaviour management rather than effective teaching and learning of curriculum content.
Contributing factors to effective teaching
Many of the studies [43] discussed pedagogies in relation to other contributing factors to effective teaching such as student engagement, teacher professional learning and curriculum.

Engagement strategies identified the importance of:

individually paced learning,

culturally safe learning environments,

providing transport, food and community-based staff working in the school,

opportunities for Aboriginal student voices,

local community involvement in the school,

teacher understanding about their students 'out-of-school' lives, and

school as a place of belonging and relevance.

Teacher professional learning included the need for:

increased teacher confidence and efficacy through actively learning about local Aboriginal culture, history and the impact of colonization,

a shift from behaviour management to subject knowledge,

time and resources to adequately reflect on and improve their practice, and

ongoing engagement with Aboriginal parents and communities.

Students and parents highlighted the importance of:

culture,

positive relationships,

needing to learn about the literacy demands of schools and how to code-switch between home and school,

support for student behavior,

schools and teachers rejecting deficit views of Aboriginal people, and

affirming Aboriginal student's cultural identity.

Knowing the community is critical
While only 14 research studies focussed on context, most studies referred to this as an important consideration especially in remote and very remote schools. This suggests that the issues for students and the challenges for teachers are largely context dependent and so critical and nuanced understandings of each particular community are crucial. It also points to the invisibility of urban-based students and communities. If a study was conducted in an urban area, the location was not mentioned or considered a factor in the study. Given that urban Indigenous populations are increasing exponentially, this highlights a concerning gap in the research design and priorities.
Deficit thinking
Concern about school and teacher deficit thinking about Aboriginal peoples and cultures that also appear to permeate policy and practice, was evident in a number of studies, some of which contextualized this within ongoing issues of race and racism. Some studies also critically analysed the construction, problematisation and reproduction of knowledge noting that Aboriginal aspirations were not often included in definitions of what success might look like for these students and their communities, or how it might be measured.
The challenges are many and the answers complex
Consequently, while these research studies contribute to the conversation about 'what works' for Indigenous students, there certainly needs to be an evidence-based systematic approach to developing pedagogical approaches to improve Aboriginal student outcomes. In saying this, the combination of diverse Aboriginal contexts each of which are embedded in local place and knowledges, and the complexity of 'measuring' pedagogies given the multitude of complex, layered and nuanced variables that impact on the teaching/learning process, makes this an extremely challenging task.
Need for a national vision
What we found throughout this review and the other systematic reviews conducted in this project, is what is missing or under-researched more than what was discovered or proven. It is clear to us that a national vision is needed. This vision needs to decolonize the parochial targets, outcomes and obsession with 'measurement' that currently restrains Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers and policy makers working together on the holistic project of improving Aboriginal student outcomes.

The Aboriginal Voices project will continue this work by developing culturally responsive approaches to schooling informed by local Aboriginal students and their families, who continually foreground the significance of Country, culture, language and identity to their success, emphasising the importance of success as 'Aboriginal'.
Dr Cathie Burgess is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney currently teaching and coordinating Aboriginal Studies curriculum courses, Aboriginal Community Engagement and the Master of Education: Leadership in Aboriginal Education. She has extensive teaching and leadership experience in secondary schools with expertise in Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal education, and implementing innovative literacy strategies. Cathie's research involves community-led initiatives positioning Aboriginal cultural educators as experts through projects such as Learning from Country in the City, Aboriginal Voices: Insights into Aboriginal Education, Community-Led Research, The Smith Family's Learning for Life program and the Redfern Aboriginal Family Cultural Program. Image by courtneyk

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Effective teaching methods that work for Indigenous students: latest research

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What does effective teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students look like? Thousands of research studies have been dedicated to finding answers to this question. But much of what we think we know, or hear, about Indigenous education remains mired in myths and legends.

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The Art of Education - lesson plan ideas

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The Art of Education - lesson plan ideas

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https://theartofeducation.edu/2017/11/15/aboriginal-art-revisited-researched-revamped/

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Aboriginal Art: Revisited, Researched, and Revamped!

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Aboriginal Art: Revisited, Researched, and Revamped! Connections % %

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Great reference to respond to the book - visual art and English examples. Could be applied to secondary school with Indigenous texts such as Catching Teller Crow

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Seeing people as individuals not a stereotype

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Seeing people as individuals not a stereotype

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https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_beat_stereotypes_by_seeing_people_as_individuals

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In 1983, a white man walked into an all-white music venue in Frederick, Maryland, and he noticed that a black man was playing in an otherwise all-white country band.

He approached the musician and told him, "I really like y'all's music. This is the first time I ever heard a black man play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis." The piano player, a musician named Daryl Davis, replied that Jerry Lee Lewis was inspired by black musicians.

© Wikipedia / Creative Commons

The man didn't believe Davis, but liked his music so much he was willing to have a drink with Davis and talk about their shared love of piano music. He told Davis he had never had a drink with a black man before. Davis wanted to know why, and that's when the man admitted he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Despite being a Klansman, the man became a regular at Davis's performances, because he learned to see him as a great individual piano player, rather than through the lens of group stereotypes. Ultimately, Davis discovered, the man was kicked out of the local KKK chapter.

This story reveals a crucial skill for building bridges between different kinds of people: focusing on individual characteristics rather than group identity. The encounter set Davis off on a crusade-he went on to befriend and convince over 200 members of the KKK to leave the organization. The entire effort was primarily based on Davis's ability to connect with them one on one.

It might seem hard to argue with the idea that we should focus on what individuals say and do and believe, instead of unthinkingly inferring those things from their group membership-but, in fact, we use group affiliation to evaluate individuals all the time. What psychological forces drive us to do that, even when stereotyping other people is against our values? How can we teach ourselves to overlook group stereotypes and instead listen to individual stories?

We can find some answers in the research-and today we can see those scientific insights being put to the real-world test by bridge-building organizations around the United States.

Why we stereotype

Psychologists call our mental shortcuts "heuristics"-and we need them to help our brains navigate the world. If you see a creature with feathers sitting on a tree branch, it probably does fly and eat worms. If you are planning a trip to upstate New York in the winter, it's not a bad idea to bring snow boots.

But heuristics can lead us to make potentially damaging assumptions about other people. Racial stereotyping, for instance, comes from the belief that membership in a racial group defines someone on a range of characteristics, including their behavior. This idea that group membership determines innate qualities is called "essentialism."

Racial segregation results from a widespread belief in racial essentialism. Many whites in the Jim Crow South, for instance, falsely believed that skin color and race determined someone's character, behavior, and intelligence.

That's why the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said during his 1963 speech at the March on Washington that he dreamed that his "four little children will one day live in a world where they will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." King was arguing that his children should be evaluated as individuals rather than as archetypes of a racial group. If we want to understand people, we need focus on individual words and actions, not their group identity.

But how? If stereotyping is so powerful that it can serve as the basis of an entire social system that required a Civil Rights movement to overturn, what can we do as individuals to see other people without prejudice?

Deflating essentialism

That's a question social scientists have been tackling for a long time.

Recently, Skidmore College psychologist Leigh Wilton was part of a team that tested out two different approaches to tackling essentialism. In one study, they gave participants a pair of readings (in addition to a control-condition statement) promoting a diversity component of a potential university strategic plan.

One reading emphasized the distinctiveness of different groups with sentences like this one:

Each group has its own talents, as well as its own problems, and by acknowledging both these strengths and weaknesses, we validate the identity of each group and we recognize its existence and its importance to the social fabric.

The second highlighted individual characteristics: "We must look beyond skin color and understand the person within, to see each person as an individual who is part of the larger group."

Participants were then asked to complete a survey based on the Race Essentialism Scale, which seeks to assess "participants' agreement with the view that race is unchangeable and biologically determined."

The results? Participants who read the passage that emphasized group differences were more likely to report beliefs in race essentialism than those who got the individual-oriented message. In other words, focusing on individuals helped the participants see people from different cultures as individuals, rather than as groups with essential characteristics.

Wilton emphasizes that this doesn't mean that it's never useful to think in terms of groups. However, we need to be aware that this way of thinking does lead to more essentialist beliefs. "Challenges come up when people think about people in terms of their group identity, or they make assumptions about people...based on what they look like, or what their background is," she explains.

Imagining vegetables

Essentialism isn't the only force that prevents us from seeing people as individuals.

Many of our social divisions stem from reacting to out-groups-people who do not belong to the social group we psychologically identify with-differently than we respond to our in-groups. Racial essentialism, for instance, can be driven by the belief that people from different racial groups have essential and categorical differences from us that make our co-existence difficult or impossible.

This reaction against out-groups is not always conscious or intentional. Research shows, for instance, that when people see someone from another group, their brains may automatically respond as if they're confronting a physical threat. We quickly place people into a group category without even really thinking about it.

"When you simply categorize the person, you're not attributing much of a mind to them "

―Susan Fiske

One neuroscience study performed by Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske found that when white participants saw photos of black faces and had two seconds to judge whether the people in these photographs were over the age of 21, they showed activity in the area of the brain called the amygdala, which indicates a high level of alertness and emotional arousal. In other words, they saw the face as a threat.

But the same study found that there was an easy way to maneuver around this automatic response.

In some cases, Fiske's team asked the white participants to judge what sort of vegetable the people in the photos would prefer to eat. In those cases-when they were prompted to see the people as individuals, with their own tastes and preferences-the amygdala activity looked the same as when the participants saw white faces, suggesting that they were able to individuate-see the faces as individuals-rather than quickly group them into a category and see them as a threat.

Fiske explains that people often tend to quickly categorize people into group categories, but that learning more about a person can help you individuate them by thinking about what goes on in their individual mind.

"When you simply categorize the person, you're not attributing much of a mind to them," she says. "But when you're trying to figure out what kind of human being they are, what their dispositions are, you have to think about their mind."

By focusing on the characteristics of individuals, rather than their group identity, we can maneuver around segregating perceptions of out-groups that drive us apart rather than bring us together.

"What's good about the vegetable task is it creates the most minimal possible goal it would take to get you to go beyond the category," Fiske says.

Building empathy through storytelling

Late last year, a group of kids from University Heights High School in New York City walked into a giant inflatable room and sat down to talk to a group of students sitting almost 700 miles away.

On the other side of the screen were students from Floyd Central High School in Eastern Kentucky, a mining region that couldn't look more different than the South Bronx.

Yet the two groups of students quickly became friends, learning that there isn't as much separating them-despite deep demographic, cultural, and political differences-as you might expect.

The project was put together by Narrative 4, an organization that works around the world to connect diverse groups of people through sharing their personal stories.

"We got these kids sort of hooked on each other through story exchange," Lee Keylock, director of global programs at Narrative 4, told Greater Good. "It breaks down all these stereotypes and perceived biases."

The foundation of libertarian-conservative billionaire Charles Koch funded part of the initiative. A classroom in Tampico, Mexico, also participated, making the project international.

What makes us unique?

Like many bridge-building organizations, Narrative 4 strategically avoids discussing issues that might trigger negative intergroup dynamics.

Keylock explains that the students at University Heights come from many different faith backgrounds, as opposed to the more homogenous Catholic school in Tampico. So Narrative 4 advises the participants to avoid starting conversations by immediately asking about their opposite's faith background-which would lump them into a group category-but instead to ask them to tell stories about what they personally believe.

"So, they already meet each other on a very personal plane," Keylock says, "before they start talking about some of these big issues."

The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom takes a similar approach, working to build bonds between women in these two faith communities: Muslim and Jewish. For instance, the organization instructs participants to avoid discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict-a polarizing issue that often quickly divides Muslims and Jews-until they have known each other for an entire year. This allows the women to see each other as individuals rather than as partisan representatives of one side of a conflict.

The People's Supper applies this insight to fostering ties between many different kinds of Americans. It has hosted over 900 dinners across the country, bringing together participants from diverse social and political backgrounds to talk about themselves and build companionship with people on the other side of major divides. "For us, the starting place is to not talk about politics," Lennon Flowers, who helped launch the project, told Greater Good last year. "So often our conversations are limited to our positions, rather than our stories, rather than who we are."

Through both research and the experience of practitioners in the field, we know that focusing on individual characteristics rather than group identity can be a powerful bridge-building tool.

Just ask Gary Nigh, a former KKK leader who was convinced by Davis to leave the organization. In a documentary called Accidental Courtesy, which features Davis's anti-racist work, interviewers asked Nigh to explain his transformation. He gestured at Davis and replied: "I met him."

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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How to Beat Stereotypes by Seeing People as Individuals

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We often judge people by their group membership-but research suggests other ways to see each other.

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Reversing racial stereotypes - E.J Brown

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Reversing racial stereotypes - E.J Brown

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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mugshot-series-reverses-stereotypes-of-black-men_n_7443698

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Artist EJ Brown is fed up with the media perpetuating damaging and destructive stereotypes of black men.

Specifically, the 25-year-old Point Park University graduate feels frustrated when the media places blame on black victims of police killings and refers to these men as thugs and criminals.

To combat those frequent misrepresentations, Brown created a powerful photo series that flips the narrative on its head.

The photo project is titled "The Mugshot Series," and it includes seven black-and-white images of young black men dressed in cap and gown holding plaques that indicate their names, ages and academic majors. The project is part of a larger campaign Brown launched called "A Perception of Complexion."

The striking photos mimic the style of criminal mugshots in order to juxtapose commonly-seen negative images of black men with more positive portraits that are rarely recognized. Brown hopes that mixture will deconstruct ugly stereotypes associated with black men and boys.

"We're not condoning violence, or gang activity or criminality, we're just bringing to light these negative perceptions and how we feel about them," Brown told The Huffington Post. "I'm about spreading peace, love and understanding."

Brown wants the photos to show his black peers that they are more than just a stereotype. Brown's love for the performing arts has allowed him to tell his own story. He enjoys acting, filmmaking, production, comedy and singing -- his friends even call him the "Renaissance Man." Now, he wants to empower other men to define their own narratives, too.

Keilynn Burkes, pictured below, participated in the photo series to fulfill the same mission.

"The portrayal of young black men in society is not a positive picture," Burkes told HuffPost. "Just because a person [is] African-American does not mean we are 'hoodlums' or individuals involved in crime."

Burkes, Brown, and the other men who participated in the project have introduced a more positive portrayal of black men to help uplift and contrast the current offering. They are actively working together to amplify their voices, share their images and celebrate the varied accomplishments of black men everywhere.

So far, Brown says the campaign has been well-received by classmates and the community who have described the project as "bold" and "liberating." For him, it is a mission accomplished.

Scroll down for more photos from the series.

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Powerful 'Mugshot' Photos Reverse Ugly Stereotypes Of Black Men

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Powerful 'Mugshot' Photos Reverse Ugly Stereotypes Of Black Men

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htlM8m6j6i8

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Tony Albert discusses 'Sorry' created for the National Apology in 2008

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/23/betye-saar-the-brilliant-artist-who-reversed-and-radicalised-racist-stereotypes

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When the artist Betye Saar learned the Aunt Jemima brand was removing the mammy-like character that had been a fixture on its pancake mixes since 1889, she uttered two words: "Oh, finally."

Those familiar with Saar's most famous work, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, might have expected a more dramatic reaction. After all, this was a piece of art so revolutionary that the activist and scholar Angela Davis credited it with launching the Black women's movement.

In this 1972 assemblage piece, Saar took the brand's familiar character and radicalised her - changing her from a racist caricature who delighted in servingher white enslavers to a woman determined to be free. Her Jemima had a broom in one hand and a rifle in the other, and in the space where an apron would wrap around her waist, there is a Black power fist superimposed over a postcard of Jemima cradling a pale infant.

The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972, mixed-media assemblage. Photograph: Benjamin Blackwell/Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California;

Davis pointed out that, at a time when African American liberation was largely framed through a male lens, Saar's image took on the race, class and gender constructs that affected Black women. The compliment from the activist still brings a smile to Saar's face. Now 95, Saar admits that the corporate rebranding of Aunt Jemima, a development announced last year, pleases her, too. But she considers it a small step rather than a radical shift in racial consciousness.

The move "still doesn't retire racism", she points out, because it remains in "so much of our culture". After all, "people are still murdering each other". And had the murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer not set off a global wave of Black Lives Matter protests, it's unclear that food labels and sports teams with racist mascots would have changed.

Challenging representations of African Americans, or, in some cases, their absence, has been a focal point for Saar throughout her six-decade career. In the 60s and 70s, she was part of the influential Black Arts movement that combined arts, activism and racial pride. Along with sculptors such as Noah Purifoy and John Outterbridge, she pioneered assemblage-style art - where found objects are made into a single work - which flourished in Los Angeles. By reframing, upending and expanding representations of African Americans, Saar's art unpacks stereotypes and complicates Black identity.

Saar is certainly not finished with Aunt Jemima. She is talking to me from her kitchen in the LA home in which she has lived since 1962. The kitchen is filled with ceramic collectibles of the character. On her tile counter sits a real attention-grabber: a foot-tall replica of an Aunt Jemima syrup bottle covered in beads.

Saar was born Betye Irene Brown in LA. Her father died in 1931, after developing an infection; a white hospital near his home would not treat him due to his race, Saar says. Her family briefly lived with her paternal grandmother in the Watts neighbourhood of LA, then moved to suburban Pasadena to live with her maternal aunt and uncle. But Saar continued visiting Watts, where she saw the artist Simon Rodia working on the architectural structures known as the Watts Towers, which he started in 1921 and finally completed in 1954.

Betye Saar in her studio, 1974. Photograph: Dwight Carter/Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects Los Angeles, California;

Witnessing Rodia use a hodgepodge of materials - concrete, wire mesh, porcelain, tile, glass and found objects - taught Saar that any item could be used to create art. Growing up, she loved drawing and painting so much that her mother would always buy her art supplies as gifts, while her sisters and brothers received bicycles and skates. Every once a while, she would protest. "Can't I get a bike?" Saar says, with a chuckle.

She was fascinated too by magic and mysticism. "I had always been a child interested in fairytales and magic and things other than just ordinary life. So that's where my creative imagery comes from in investigating cultures and dealing with how to make magic in the art," she says.

Although much of the US was racially segregated during her childhood in the 1930s and 40s, her neighbourhood was mixed, with African Americans, Latinos and white people, while her own background includes African American, Native American and European heritage. She lived just two blocks away from a youth who would go on to make history: JackieRobinson. In 1947, the athlete became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. Seven years Saar's senior, Robinson was not one of her playmates. "He was my paperboy," she says. But she remembers how his success led to the relaxation of segregation policies in their town.

At the time African Americans were only allowed to sit in certain parts of cinemas or even visit only on certain days of the week, she recalls. "Athletics was kind of like the groundbreaker for racism and then entertainment," Saar says. Art, she says, doesn't have the same cultural reach, but that hasn't stopped her from using her work to challenge inequality. Like Robinson, Saar attended Pasadena City College and the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied interior design and graduated in 1949. She married the ceramicist Richard Saar three years later and went on to have three daughters with him: Alison, Lezley and Tracye.

Saar at Pasadena City College in 1944. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California

Saar studied printmaking in 1967 after she saw an exhibition by the pioneering assemblage artist Joseph Cornell at the Pasadena Art Museum, inspiring her to create a work that would comment on race, gender and spirituality. In 1969's Black Girl's Window, her first widely acclaimed assemblage work, Saar used a wooden window frame to present a series of vignettes in the top half of the window and a silhouette of herself below. The images depict her parents dancing, her father's death and the stars, sky and moon. With a nod to her astrological sign, Leo, embodied by a lion, and to her 1968 divorce, the work allowed Saar to work through her personal trauma and the grief she felt in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts rebellion - six days of deadly riots that began when a police stop of a Black motorist turned violent - as well as the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

A year later Saar accompanied the artist David Hammons to the Field Museum in Chicago for the National Conference of Artists. There, she saw a variety of African art and found the use of spirituality and organic materials - soil, feathers, wood - so inspiring that she made a trip to Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977. She subsequently travelled to Senegal as well as to the African diaspora countries Brazil and Haiti. During her travels, she scavenged for materials to use in her own work, linking the African and African American experiences together.

"Wherever I go, I say: 'What's the alternative religion?' because every country has it," she says. "There are lots of other people that believe in magic and they have their own religion, and I was just really interested in what they did and what their ceremonies were, but mostly what the visual images would be."

Her interest in Aunt Jemima began when she was asked to contribute to an exhibition about Black heroes for artists of colour at the Oakland Museum. "I chose Aunt Jemima, because it's a negative thing, and Black people were ashamed of that. I thought: 'How can I make Aunt Jemima a hero?' So, I took the image of Aunt Jemima as a mammy holding a baby and made a little box.

"That was the first piece, at least in California, where a derogatory image was used to switch stereotypes. That became my theme - taking the negative and making it positive."

Record for Hattie, 1975, mixed-media assemblage. Photograph: Robert Wedemeyer/Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects Los Angeles, California;

Through the 70s Saar continued to create works about her own life. When her great-aunt Hattie Parson Keys died in 1974, the elderly woman left behind family photographs, jewellery, papers and curios, which Saar turned into 1975's Record for Hattie. The mixed-media work includes a compartmentalised case filled with jewellery, quilting fabric, sewing pins, a baby picture and a broken hand mirror. Spiritual garnishes - a crucifix pendant and a crescent moon and star - also appear. Full of mementoes and nostalgia, the assemblage piece managed to memorialise Parson Keys and move critics, with the New York Times in 1978 describing Record for Hattie as " one of the artist's most beautiful assemblages ".

Saar also helped found the LA art collective Womanspace, which included artists such as Judy Chicago. In 1974, she co-organised a group show there to highlight the work of Black female artists. While African Americans showed up to support the show, Saar says that white women stayed home. This offered a wake-up call about how race divides women in the feminist movement. Today, she rejects the term "feminist" altogether. For those who see her work as feminist, she says: "That's their business."

Feminism has traditionally focused on issues such as getting women in the workforce that have little resonance for her, she says. "In Black culture, as far as I know, women [always] worked, women cared for husbands, women cared for kids, women taught."

Her own mother was one example. "My mother was widowed quite young. She had three children, so she became a working mother. Part of feminism is bringing the woman out of the house - but my mother was always out of the house. So I never really had to deal with that. From childhood on, [I believed] that a woman did anything. You could become a nurse. You could become a doctor. You could do nothing. You don't have to get married and take care of a man."

In 1974, she received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship (an honour she earned again a decade later). And Saar has continued to rack up honours and awards for her work. The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York hosted a solo exhibition of her collage, assemblage and installation art in 1975, just three years after the painter Alma Woodsey Thomas became the first Black woman to get a solo show there. Saar was given the J Paul Getty Fund for the Visual Arts fellowship in 1990. In 2005, the University of Michigan Museum of Art organised a major retrospective of her art. Eight years later, the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA presented her with a Distinguished Women in the Arts award.

Why has Saar's art sustained interest? "It's good," she says with a laugh. "And it's made with good intentions."

Her interests have also remained consistent. Betye Saar: Keepin' It Clean, her 2017 solo show at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in LA, included an assortment of armed mammies on washboards. And her latest exhibit, Black Doll Blues - watercolour works on paper - addresses society's limited perspective on African American identity. Using dolls that Saar has collected herself, it highlights the evolving portrayals of Black Americans throughout history.

Black Doll Blues, 2021. Photograph: Paul Salveson/Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California

Painting her doll collection gave her an activity she could do quietly at home as the first wave of Covid-19 swept through California last year. (Saar says she contracted the virus in December, but quickly recovered.) Initially she felt it was a departure from her focus on race and mysticism. "But then I read that the word 'doll' is derived from the word 'idol'," she says. "So, that goes right back to [my creative] source, that people made idols and they worshipped idols, and, then, people started to make little idols for children."

In Black Doll Blues, Saar once again explores how dolls have been used to caricature and exclude African Americans. "When I was a kid, there were no Black dolls, unless maybe your grandmother made one or somebody made a rag doll," Saar says. "It's really interesting how deep racism is, how it affects even children." In fact when she was growing up, representations of African Americans were so rare in popular culture that even stereotypical ones - such as in the US sitcom Amos 'n' Andy, which started on the radio in 1928 - were cause for excitement.

"My grandparents - when that show came on," says Saar, "they wanted everybody to be quiet to listen to that show, because before, we [African Americans] didn't have any kind of public exposure. And even if it was derogatory, it was still some kind of recognition that we existed. Before, we didn't exist, except as a maid or waiter or a field worker or a slave."

In the sketchbook she has been painting in during the pandemic, Saar has painted a Jemima-like doll in vibrant watercolours against a backdrop of blue sky scattered with bright stars. It's not finished, but it is as arresting as Jemima with a shotgun. She calls the image Black Doll in the Mystical Sky. It means that the mammy is "just not a servant", she says. "She's also a mystic."

To me, Saar's work always brings to mind the popular social media hashtag #BlackGirlMagic, which spotlights Black women's resilience, giftedness and power. "Yeah, I have that reputation," Saar says. That's because her art "is not just like a regular landscape or still life or something like that. It's mystical; it's strange."

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Betye Saar: the brilliant artist who reversed and radicalised racist stereotypes

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In the 1970s, her art was so influential that Angela Davis credited it with launching the Black women's movement. At 95, Saar is still creating work - and it is as arresting as ever

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https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/stereotypes-prejudice-of-aboriginal-australia

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What is a stereotype?

Before we discuss stereotypes we need to know what a stereotype is.

Definition: Stereotype

The Wikipedia defines a stereotype as

a generalised perception of first impressions,

judging with the eyes/criticising ones outer appearance,

a conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image,

forms of social consensus rather than individual judgements.

The word 'stereotype' comes from the Greek 'stereo' and 'typos' = 'solid impression'.

Stereotypes surface when you are with a group of people and you hear them affirming that, for example, "all Aboriginals are lazy". If you asked that person you would probably find out that they actually have never met an Aboriginal person which would have allowed them to reach an informed opinion.

Stereotypes are dangerous and can lead to prejudice and racism.

Stereotypes are incomplete and inaccurate beliefs that some people hold about groups of other people .

Example: Aboriginal Associate Professor Karen Martin teaches university students in Queensland. She found that of the 600 students in her classes, fewer than one third had ever had a conversation with an Aboriginal person. "And yet most had a strongly held opinion or belief about Aboriginal people-generally negative," she says .

Scientists found that our brain responds more strongly to information about groups who are portrayed unfavourably , which is often the case with Aboriginal people in the media. The negative groups then become treated as more and more negative.

When we cluster people into groups with a variety of expected traits we are less overwhelmed by information. But negative stereotypes are more difficult to reverse, and if you haven't been brought up in a liberal family you might have more difficulties unlearning prejudice.

I once received an email asking for "information on this wonderful history" of Aboriginal people in Australia. Had the author known more about Aboriginal history they wouldn't have used the word "wonderful".

Test: Do you hold stereotypes?

Many reduce their perception of Aboriginal people to either be disadvantaged or talented exceptions. Is the following all you do?

You celebrate individuals such as Rover Thomas, the Bangarra Dance Theatre or Cathy Freeman.

You admire dot paintings on lounge room walls.

You condemn endemic violence and out-of-sight Third World conditions.

You hope the Australian government will do something, anything, about it.

You ignore the drunks on the street and avoid walking the streets of Redfern.

I'm Aboriginal, But I'm Not...

Listen to Aboriginal people who don't fit the common stereotype:

Homework: How would you respond to these statements?

Unfortunately a large portion of the majority - that is, white Australians - accept a certain level of prejudice. You can tell when you listen carefully:

"I don't have a problem with [insert minority group], provided they come the right way / assimilate..."

"Aboriginal people need to get over the past and get on with things..."

"I don't have a problem with racism, I just don't like [insert minority group], that's different..."

"Don't be so politically correct, it's all in good fun [usually said after racist remark]..."

"I'm not racist, my [insert friend, colleague etc] is [insert race reference]..."

Write a response you could give to each of these statements.

What could your response trigger in the other person? Could you improve your response?

Stereotypes about Aboriginal Australians

Research has found "entrenched negative stereotypes" of Aboriginal people in Australia .

Stereotypes can take many forms and shapes. Some of the more common ones say that Aboriginal people...

are primitive and nomadic,

lack complex laws and social organisation,

are drunks,

are violent,

live in the outback,

are un-educated no hopers,

are involved in too much crime,

receive too much from welfare,

get more than the whites,

eat the wrong foods (white sugar, flour, McDonalds, etc.),

don't have a religion, have sinned and need to pray for forgiveness,

don't use the land they get for free,

get treated too leniently by police and courts,

do not want to work and are lazy,

must fit the image of a dark-skinned, wide-nosed person (i.e. a 'full-blood'),

live a traditional tribal/ancient lifestyle,

are not really attached to their land because they live on the fringe of towns and cities,

are like leeches and drain away each others' resources,

are problems ('the Aboriginal problem') and Aboriginal people have problems.

Deconstructing stereotypes

If I asked you to name three symbols of Aboriginal culture, you wouldn't disagree with dot-paintings, boomerangs and didgeridoos, right?

While the tourist industry wants to make us believe these are items that represent Australian Aboriginal culture, they actually don't.

First we need to remember that there is no single Aboriginal culture. Australia is home to many Aboriginal nations who are as diverse as other groups of nations, for example Europe.

All three symbols come from specific areas of Australia because they won't work elsewhere or wouldn't be available in other places.

Dot-painting is an art form that emerged when a European art teacher worked with an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory in the 1970s. They were a result of abstracting sacred patterns.

Boomerangs need wide, open spaces to be able to fly the typical arcs that bring them back to their thrower. This would be impossible in any of the forested areas of Australia.

Didgeridoos are made from wood that has been hollowed by termites. But the inside of trees is only one of five habitats of termites because many termite species don't eat wood. Since these drywood termites obtain all their moisture from the wood they need high humidity to survive. This limits the areas where artists can find hollow wood.

Spot the stereotype!

In a parody of One Direction's song What Makes You Beautiful, Frankie Jackson takes to comedy to portray some of the stereotypes about Aboriginal people. How many can you find in this clip?

Stereotypes are myths we copied from others without inquisitive verification. But you'll be surprised that most of the myths about Aboriginal culture are not true.

Besides individuals who readily believe those stereotypes, the mainstream media's focus on negative Aboriginal issues creates much hurt when it presents the problems of individual Aboriginal people as problems of all Indigenous Australians.

The education system also contributes to stereotypes when students learn of the negative aspects of Aboriginal history rather than contemporary Aboriginal studies which can be very positive, especially with regard to sporting (such as Rugby League) and educational achievements.

Further, many Australians believe that 'we are not responsible for the past' and don't owe Aboriginal people anything, a view advocated for many years by former Prime Minister John Howard.

The racist stereotyping is alive and well in Australian culture. Never mind that these stereotypes can be shown for the lies that they are, racists never let truth or facts hold them back. I'm Aboriginal and I am aware of the crap every freakin' day!
- wotzthepoint? on Yahoo Answers

Homework: Spot the stereotypes!

The following text is a comment from Creative Spirits' Facebook page in response to a post about the Western Australian government considering shutting down Aboriginal communities.

Examine the comment carefully:

"Has anyone considered that leaving these communities open is continuing to keep the aboriginal community out of site [sic] and out of mind. By all means keep your cultural heritage which is vital for any race, but let's get real. A community that has no chance of a sustainable income producing industry, no chance of continuing employment and small family populations is going no where [sic]. What about the children in these communities who never learn to speak english and have trouble putting a sentance [sic] together. What chance are they going to have in the real world."

Questions

How many stereotypes are in the text above?

Which ones are they?

Story: They call you...

They call you Boong, they call you Abo, they call you Coon. They see your skin and think it's dirty.

When you smile they say 'they're a happy one'. They see you work hard and say 'they must be one of the good ones'.

They congratulate you not for what you have done, but just that you were able to do it... 'they have potential'. When you argue with your intellect, they are surprised by your intelligence... 'they're smart for one of them'.

They don't see your culture, they don't see your pride, they don't see that you are a person in your own right. Yes, you are a good black man. But you are also a good man.

They say you are smart for a black woman. This discounts your intelligence; you are a smart woman. We call you strong, we call you proud, we call you black.

We see your skin as a coat of armour, protecting your spirit and your Dreaming.

You smile because your spirit is strong. You smile because they cannot harm you with their hurtful words.

You work hard, not for their accolades, but for your own and you work for your family. This, they do not understand... but they have potential.

Intellectually you are beyond their par, for you know their world and your own. They only know their way... but they are smart for one of them.

Every day you carry your culture, every day you carry your humanity, every day you carry with you your Dreaming. This makes you a strong black person.

Yes, you are a good man. And I feel strong that you never lose sight of the fact you are a good black man.

You are a smart woman. And I am proud to say you are an intelligent and inspirational black woman.

They call you names. All but your own.

I will call to them, and say 'these may be your words' but he is my brother, she is my sister, and today your hurtful words mean nothing.

Resource

Susans Birthday Party is a short 5-minute film about a six-year-old Aboriginal girl with red hair and fair skin who's teased at school as she is not the stereotypical Aboriginal.

Written and directed by Maureen Logan, the film is available through Keeaira Press.

An old stereotype is in your wallet

Did you know that an old stereotype about Aboriginal Australians is in your wallet? Take out one coin each for five cents, ten cents, twenty cents, one dollar and two dollars, then see what you get.

Australia's coins as shown above represent Australia's fauna-or do they? Which coin is the odd one out?

Most coins were designed and introduced in February 1966 , more than a year before Aboriginal people were counted as citizens in their own country. It was a time when they were still thought to 'die out' eventually and politics of the Stolen Generations would be carried on for at least another ten years.

The series of coins suggests that Aboriginal people were seen as part of the landscape. Ironically the 'native tree' shown next to the head of the Aboriginal man used to be called 'blackboy', a reference to Indigenous people not only because the grass tree, as it is now known, has a black stem after a bushfire, but also because it develops a spear-like shoot which holds the flower and can be up to two metres in height.

You see, this is where we fit into the white scheme of things, as fauna, part of the animal kingdom, part of the landscape.
- 'Craig', an Aboriginal character in John Damalis' book 'Riding the Black Cockatoo'

One might argue that the one dollar and two dollars coins are not really part of the others because they were designed and added in 1983 and 1987. The fact remains, however, that Aboriginal people might be offended and think otherwise.

Where do stereotypes come from?

The definition of a stereotype above implies that people who communicate them rely on unverified first impressions and oversimplified concepts. Because they don't want to or cannot find out the truth they rely on views readily available to them.

The media is a prime supplier of these simplified views and itself prone to, and a distributor of, stereotypes.

How many times did you read about a dysfunctional, violent Aboriginal community or drunk Aboriginal people getting into trouble?

And how many times did you read a success story about an Aboriginal person, in health, sport or business?

This is where the media forms and reinforces Aboriginal stereotypes. Racial stereotyping in the media is institutional and results from news values and editorial policies .

For Aboriginal artist Bindi Cole this leads to a disconnection between the broader community and the Aboriginal community. "People don't even understand that in urban areas there [once] were Aboriginal people. They see what they see on TV and think 'that's what Aboriginal people are' and, if you don't fit into that, you're not Aboriginal. They think there can't have been any evolution of Aboriginal people in the last 200 years."

Politicians who fail to visit a broad range of Aboriginal communities to discuss matters with people first hand are susceptible to stereotypes which then influence their politics. John Howard's first visit to an Aboriginal community came in February 1998, two years after he took office, and during his 12 years as Prime Minister he never visited any communities other than in far north Queensland and the Northern Territory .

People stereotype the Aboriginal race,
But theirs I never do disgrace.
Drugs, no school, drinkers that's all they know
Of a people with so much more to show.
I hold my head up so high
For my race I would die...

Poem by Salote Bovoro, a 14-year-old girl.

Aboriginal youth become the stereotypes they see

A dangerous thing about stereotypes is that they can influence a young Aboriginal person growing up. As they realise their different heritage and start searching for their identity, they are vulnerable to internalising the beliefs and misconceptions their fellow Australians hold about them.

"If this is what people think that being Aboriginal is, then maybe that's what I'm supposed to be," says young Aboriginal woman Belinda Huntress from northern NSW about this identity-searching time in her life. "So what I started doing was colluding to these stereotypes."

Watch her full speech on TEDxYouth:

How can I avoid stereotyping?

It is not easy to detect that you are holding stereotypes when you are on autopilot. Follow these steps to change:

1. Become aware that you hold stereotypes. We are all human and hold stereotypes of some kind. The first step is to raise your awareness that you do without judging yourself for it. Realise that you copied certain beliefs from others without verification (this is much easier anyway).

2. Question statements. With your sharpened awareness you can now detect generalising statements like "All Aboriginal people are lazy". Start questioning them by asking "Why do you think so?" Question not only people, but also any media you consume.

3. Inform yourself. Well done for reading Creative Spirits. Information is the best cure to stereotypes. Start investigating, 'Are Aboriginal people really lazy?' Check out publications from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It is vital that you go to trustworthy, authoritative sources as others might just offer a different stereotype.

4. Help disproving them. Armed with knowledge you can now offer the real view and say 'I disagree, the ABS found that in the last decade the number of Aboriginal students in higher education grew by 20%'.

After experiencing Aboriginal culture first-hand for 4 weeks during the series First Contact, Bo-dene Stieler realised her false beliefs:

"Before the journey, I would never have thought that my biggest life inspiration would come from Aboriginal people. Looking back, I can't believe the ignorance I showed and the disrespect I showed by not even taking the pro-active approach to find out more and just believing everything that I had been told."

I never realised that I would share so many connections with Aboriginal people. I always thought that there was some huge divide that could never be crossed. But I was wrong.
- Bo-dene Stieler, participant in First Contact

'Good' stereotypes: Australia's tourism industry

Stereotypes don't need to be bad. The tourism industry of Australia relies heavily on the stereotype of an ancient and mythical Aboriginal Australia to sell its products.

In the history section the website stops to tell about Aboriginal people beyond the 1967 Referendum. The 'Culture' section refers to the Bangarra Dance Theatre's style as 'traditional' whereas it is, in fact, also very contemporary.

The tourism industry has perfected the art of creating the good stereotype in the minds of readers of their promotional material without saying anything that's untrue.

Read the following extract of a text by Tourism Australia which appeared in a German newsletter about Australia :

The Aborigines of Australia are the keepers of one of the oldest existing cultures. They are proud of their culture and traditions. They love to share their traditional music, ritual dances and knowledge about their land. Tourists who let themselves into meeting Aborigines during a tour into the outback can visit unique places, sense the spirituality of ancient customs, experience the spectacular nature or get close to how these people live during a stay in an Aboriginal community.

You meet Aboriginal art and culture everywhere in Australia. If along the coast, in the heart of Australia or even at Circular Quay in Sydney or the Botanic Gardens of Melbourne - Aboriginal art and culture is present in the entire country. Tourists have many options to experience it. In urban regions, for example, galleries and exhibitions offer views into contemporary Aboriginal Australia.

View the original German text

Show

Die Ureinwohner Australiens sind die Hüter einer der ältesten noch bestehenden Kulturen. Die Aborigines sind stolz auf ihre Kultur und Traditionen. Ihre überlieferte Musik, ihre rituellen Tänze und ihr Wissen über ihr Land teilen sie gerne mit Besuchern. Touristen, die sich auf die Begegnung einlassen, sehen bei Touren im Outback einmalige Plätze in Australien, spüren die Spiritualität der uralten Bräuche, erleben die spektakuläre Natur oder erfahren bei einem Aufenthalt in einer Aborigine Gemeinde hautnah die Lebensweise der Menschen.

Auf die Kunst und Kultur der Aborigines trifft man überall in Australien. Ob entlang der Küste, mitten im Herzen Australiens oder sogar am Hafen von Sydney oder in den Botanischen Gärten Melbournes - die Kunst und Kultur der Ureinwohner ist im ganzen Land präsent. Touristen haben viele verschiedene Möglichkeiten, sie zu erleben. In urbanen Regionen etwa bieten Galerien und Ausstellungen Einblicke in das zeitgenössische aboriginale Australien.

Wouldn't you agree that you just saw a fur-clad Aboriginal person holding a spear and boomerang?

Analysing the text we find words and attributes such as 'keepers', 'oldest', 'traditions', 'ritual' and 'ancient'. The text serves the stereotype of Aboriginal people 'living a traditional tribal/ancient lifestyle' mentioned earlier. It's all in the words. 'Contemporary' is only mentioned in conjunction with galleries and exhibitions.

95% of Australian tourists want to experience Aboriginal culture during their trip and that's why Tourism Australia has chosen to feature the image of an Aboriginal tour guide prominently on their website (see image above). But I have to disappoint you.

Many Aboriginal people struggle to get jobs, even in the tourism industry. Some Aboriginal people might not even know about their own culture, have lost their family ties or don't practise any traditional customs at all.

We don't practise our Aboriginal culture much because my nanna was stolen when she was eight years old and put in a dormitory and required to work for a white couple, so we're missing a part of our ancestry.
- Stephen Pitt, Sunshine Coast, QLD

Stephen's nanna was 'stolen' because she is a member of the Stolen Generations, Aboriginal people who were taken away by the Australian governments "for their better" and to be trained as domestic servants or workers.

Here is another example for a 'good stereotype', also by Tourism Australia:

What tourist advertising does not tell

Australian tourists want to be served the good stereotypes of Aboriginal Australia. Imagine what would happen if we told them the truth about the contemporary situation Indigenous people are in:

The text on the left hand side is taken from Tourism Australia's website australia.com in 2008 . Next to it I've put my version, written with the background of more than a year's study of Aboriginal affairs by reading the National Indigenous Times and Koori Mail. I don't want to discredit australia.com, but show how different a picture you can get if you read elsewhere.
Sidenote: On 10 January 2011, the Supreme Court of Australia dismissed an appeal against a $500 fine imposed on the company who had built the drop toilet on sacred ground in November 2007. Under Northern Territory Intervention laws, evidence should have been presented citing the "detrimental effect of the desecration". The sacred site is considered ceremonially significant to many clans in the region of Arnhem Land, and is used several times during the year by local Aboriginal men and women.

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Stereotypes & prejudice of 'Aboriginal Australia'

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Don't believe everything you read about Aboriginal Australian people. We expose the common "good" stereotypes used in the tourist industry.

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Indigenous teaching resources - disaster resilience

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Indigenous teaching resources - disaster resilience

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https://schools.aidr.org.au/disaster-resilience-education/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-resources/

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The resources and links on this page are designed to help educators and non-indigenous people better integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into Disaster Resilience Education.

Through the Education for Young People program, AIDR promotes the development of hazard-related knowledge and skills for all young Australians, enabling them to participate in local action to reduce the risk of disaster.

Explore curriculum-linked resources and other useful information for early learning, primary, and secondary schools developed by key stakeholders that can be applied in your local community.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resources

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The resources and links on this page are designed to help educators and non-indigenous people better integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into Disaster Resilience Education. Through the Education for Young People program, AIDR promotes the development of hazard-related knowledge and skills for all young Australians, enabling them to participate in local action to reduce the risk of disaster.

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https://livingknowledge.anu.edu.au/learningsites/kooricoast/01_welcome.htm

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...we live in this wonderful area of the Yuin Nation. For me, the Yuin nation stretches from Nowra across to Goulburn, from Goulburn down to the Victorian border and from the Victorian border in as far as Cooma - and that there is the Nation of the Black Duck... Anthony Moore

Many Aboriginal or Koori people from the south coast of New South Wales refer to themselves collectively as Yuin, but all identify as Koori. Since the arrival of Europeans, South Coast Koori people have suffered many consequences of colonisation, especially the loss of their land. Nevertheless, Koori culture remains strong and people along the coast retain their connections to country and are keeping their knowledge alive.

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we live in this wonderful area of the Yuin Nation. For me, the Yuin nation stretches from Nowra across to Goulburn, from Goulburn down to the Victorian border and from the Victorian border in as far as Cooma - and that there is the Nation of the Black Duck...

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have developed an intricate understanding of the environment over many thousands of years.

Artist: Laurie Nilsen

The artwork used in the design of this website represents the relationships between seasonal, meteorological and astronomical changes - and how the Mandandanji people read these changes to inform life on country.
About the Indigenous Weather Knowledge website
Learn more about the Indigenous Weather Knowledge (IWK) website and the Bureau of Meteorology's commitment to strengthening respectful and collaborative relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Language, culture and environmental knowledge
See an overview of the relationships between language, culture and environmental knowledge.
Reconciliation Action Plan
This plan formalises the Bureau of Meteorology's commitment and contribution towards reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.
Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have developed an intricate understanding of the environment over many thousands of years. Artist: Laurie Nilsen The artwork used in the design of this website represents the relationships between seasonal, meteorological and astronomical changes - and how the Mandandanji people read these changes to inform life on country.

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Japingka Gallery - WA

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The connection between dreamtime and songlines

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The connection between dreamtime and songlines

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The Dreaming is the description of a sacred time that saw the creation of the world as Aboriginal people know it and understand it. Dreamtime is the word used in the English language, but there are many words across the Aboriginal languages, including Tjukurrpa and Ngarrangkarni. Both words mean a sacred time when the world was created by the Ancestors.

The Ancestors are the initial creative forces that brought into being all the features of the land, of animals and the natural world, of people and the Law, and the totemic connections between all of these. The Dreaming or the Dreamtime is a sacred narrative of Creation that is seen as a continuous process that links traditional Aboriginal people to their origins.

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Connection Between the Dreamtime and Songlines? - Japingka

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The Dreaming is the description of a sacred time that saw the creation of the world as Aboriginal people know it and understand it. Dreamtime is the word used in the English language, but there are many words across the Aboriginal languages, including Tjukurrpa and Ngarrangkarni.

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Cultural appropriation - Indigenous resources

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Cultural appropriation - Indigenous resources

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Aboriginal Art: Revisited, Researched, and Revamped!

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Aboriginal Art: Revisited, Researched, and Revamped! Connections % %

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Japingka Gallery -  Western Australia

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For Teachers/Educators & Schools

This page presents quality education resources that may be useful for teachers in primary and secondary schools who would like to incorporate information about Australian Aboriginal artists and their art into lessons. The resources have either been developed or reviewed by Japingkga Gallery.

Table of Contents

Click any of these links to visit the section, or scroll down the page to view.

Educators: lesson plans and interviews with educators

Themes: resources by theme such as animals, weather & elements, place and culture

Languages: resources by language

Stories: resources relating to Aboriginal storylines

History: resources relating to history and Aboriginal art

Styles: traditional, dot painting, contemporary

Regions: resources by locality or origin of the artists

Artists: resources relating to individual Aboriginal artists

Guides: introductory guides to relevant topics - custodianship, styles & colours, cell biology

Educators

Lesson Plans

Bush Medicine is a Visual Arts Programme for middle primary school students designed for the Australian and West Australian curriculum. A set of 11 Lesson Plans provide teachers with resources to teach confidently about visual arts reflecting on and drawing ideas from the artwork of Rosemary Petyarre.

View: Lesson Plans

My Family is a Visual Arts Programme for Year 4 primary school students. Students create an artwork based on the theme "My Family", inspired from conversations with artist Sarrita King and her Ancestors work. This is a set of 13 Lesson Plans for visual arts teachers.

View: Lesson Plans

Remote School Mentors Project

This is a case study of a Visual Arts Project for indigenous high school students designed to promote school attendance as well as facilitate transfer of traditional knowledge and skills. Students worked along side older mentors from their community to put together a collection of paintings for a dedicated exhibition. The project had a powerful impact on school attendance and confidence in learning across all learning areas. The following interviews describe the project from the perspective of the school Principal, the project facilitator and the gallery director.

View:

Year 7 Visual Arts Project

In 2016 Seton College ran a project for Year 7 students exploring Aboriginal Art and Culture as part of their Visual Arts program. The following interviews describe the project from the perspective of the coordinating teacher and an indigenous artist and educator who was involved in the project.

View:

Kimberley Rock Art

Australia has incredible Indigenous rock art. This interview series explores the work being carried out to document and preserve these important sites. This resource includes interviews with Professor Peter Veth from the University of Western Australia and Leah Umbagai from Mowanjum Arts Centre.
Kimberley Rock Art 5 Part Article Series:

Interviews

Themes

Animals

Ceremony

Culture

Family Influence

Medicine

Plants and Food

Places

Stars

Weather and Elements

Water and Waterholes

Languages

Aboriginal art resources broken down by language.

Aankum

Alyawarr

Anmatyerre

Eastern Anmatyerre

Gija

Koorie

Pintupi

Joylene Reid Napangardi, Kim Butler Napurrula, Kim West Naparrula, Linda Syddick Napaltjarri, Maisie Campbell Napaltjarri, Makinti Napanangka, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Mitjili Naparrula, Monica Napaltjarri, Narpula Scobie Napurrula, Ningura Naparrula, Patrick Tjungurrayi, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Thomas Tjapaltjarri, Walala Tjapaltjarri, Walangkura Napanangka, Wentja Napaltjarri, Yinarupa Gibson Nangala

Stories: Tingari

Warlpiri

Stories: Budgerigar Dreaming

Wunumbal

Guides

Stories

Visual Index: Stories

Bush Medicine Leaves

In The Beginning When the World Was Soft

History

Styles

Dot Art

Contemporary

Bark Painting

Regions

There are thriving art communities in many different regions of Australia. Artists from these regions may sometimes have a common style, and will in many cases be representing their own storylines.
Visual Index to Regions
Alice Springs:

Ampilatwatja:

Arnhem Land:

Balgo Hills:

Bidyadanga:

Daly River:

Darwin:

Docker River

Fitzroy Crossing

Haasts Bluff

Hermannsburg

Iwantja

Kalumburu

Kintore

Region Overview: Kintore Paintings

Artists: George Ward Tjungurrayi, Linda Syddick Napaltjarri, Makinti Napanangka, Walangkura Napanangka, Joylene Reid Napangardi, Lorna Ward, Nellie Marks Nakamarra, Maisie Campbell Napaltjarri, Narpula Scobie Napurrula, Ronnie Tjampitjina

Exhibitions: Linda Syddick Napaltjarri Solo Exhibition, Mini Masters

Kiwirrkura

Kununurra

Lajamanu

Lockhart River

Maningrida

Mount Liebig

Mowanjum

Mt Allan

Murray River

Papunya

Roper River

Spinifex

Tiwi Islands

Torres Strait

Utopia:

Region Overview: Utopia

Guide: The Aboriginal Art Movement at Utopia

Artists: Minnie Pwerle, Kudditji Kngwarreye, Anne Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Galya Pwerle, Abie Loy Kemarre, Betty Mbitjana, Barbara Weir, Charmaine Pwerle, June Bird, Rosemary Petyarre, Dulcie Long Pwerle, Polly Ngale

Wangkatjungka

Warakurna

Warmun

Yinjaa-Barni

Yuendumu

Artists

Abie Loy Kemarre

Alec Baker

Alma Nungarrayi Granites

Anna Petyarre

Barbara Weir

Betty Mbitjana (Mpetyane)

Biddee Baadjo

Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri

Charmaine Pwerle

Clifton Mack

Collaboration Wangkatjungka Artists

Damien Marks & Yilpi Marks

David Downs

Dennis Nona

Djambu Barra Barra

Doris Gingingara

Dorothy Napangardi

Douglas Abbott

Dulcie Long Pwerle

Edward Blitner

Eileen Napaltjarri

Eubena Nampitjin

Eva Nelson Napaltjarri

Fabrianne Peterson Nampitjinpa

Freddie Timms

Galya Pwerle

George Tuckerbox

George Ward Tjungurrayi

Gloria Petyarre

Hamish Garrgarrku (Karrkarrhba)

Helen McCarthy Tyalmuty

Jack Britten

Jack Dale Mengenen

Jeannie Mills Pwerle

Jill Jack

Jimmy Baker + Family

Jimmy Pike

Jock Mosquito

Jorna Newberry

Joylene Reid Napangardi

Judy Napangardi Martin

Judy Watson Napangardi

June Bird

June Peters

Katarra Butler Napaltjarri

Katherine Marshall Nakamarra

Kerry Madawyn McCarthy

Kim Butler Napurrula

Kim West Napurrula

Kudditji Kngwarreye

Kurun Warun

Lily Karadada

Lily Kelly Napangardi

Linda Syddick Napaltjarri

Lorna Fencer Napurrula

Lorna Ward Napanangka

Maisie Campbell Napaltjarri

Maisie Ward Nungurrayi

Makinti Napanangka

Marcia Purdie

Margaret Lewis Napangardi

Marlene Harold

Mary McLean

Maureen Hudson Nampijinpa

Mercy Fredericks

Minnie Pwerle

Mitjili (Mijili) Napanangka Gibson

Mitjili Napurrula

Monica Napaltjarri

Nada Rawlins

Narpula Scobie Napurrula

Nellie Marks Nakamarra

Ningura Napurrula

Patrick Tjungurrayi

Penny K Lyons

Polly Ngale

Queenie McKenzie

Regina Karadada

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa

Rosella Namok

Rosemary Petyarre

Rosie Goodjie

Rover Thomas

Sarrita King

Spinifex Artists

Stumpy Brown

Summer Matthews Glass Artworks

Tarisse King

Thomas Tjapaltjarri

Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa

Turbo Brown

Walala Tjapaltjarri

Walangkura Napanangka

Wentja Napaltjarri

Willie Kew

Yinarupa Gibson Nangala
Visual Index to Artists
Any Other Resources You'd Like to See?

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Aboriginal Art Education Resources - Japingka Gallery

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This page presents quality education resources that may be useful for teachers in primary and secondary schools who would like to incorporate information about Australian Aboriginal artists and their art into lessons. The resources have either been developed or reviewed by Japingkga Gallery.

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Great resource for learning how to teach culturally responsive art lessons.

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One step to creating an inclusive curriculum is to look at cultural appropriation in the art classroom. It's no surprise that artists create what we know; for centuries, humans reflect what we see, then combine, modify, adapt, and borrow. However, when it comes to reflecting cultures other than our own, we must be intentional and sensitive to the cultural contexts of colors, symbols, and techniques we use.

As art educators, not only do we need to look carefully at how our students are appropriating cultures in their own artwork, but we must also reflect on how we might unintentionally be teaching students through cultural appropriation.

Artistic Appropriation vs. Cultural Appropriation

As art teachers, we talk about appropriation all the time. Appropriation is when an artist takes a well-known image and uses it specifically for the social construct it carries to make a statement in a new way.

For example, when a student looks at Spongebob and directly replicates Spongebob in all his glorious cartoon nuances, your student is copying. When a student looks at Spongebob and creates artwork about sea life in a cartoon style, your student is using Spongebob as inspiration. When your student looks at Spongebob, creates a new subject that looks similar to Spongebob, is perhaps an olive color instead of bright yellow, manipulates the character in other manners, and creates a polluted environment, your student is appropriating Spongebob for the happy-go-lucky context we all know and love to tell a story about sea pollution. Just Googling "Spongebob Appropriation" brings up a myriad of playful examples.

Cultural appropriation, according to Lexico.com is, "The unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society." Cultural appropriation is a topic that is either explicit or implicit in our classrooms and one that must be acknowledged and addressed in our artmaking practices. Interestingly enough, Spongebob Squarepants has been accused of cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation in the classroom is tricky.

To ignore teaching a variety of cultures in art is to deny the very essence in which art is created. However, when we teach a project specifically based on a specific culture, we are teaching our students that it's okay to appropriate that culture, but we also miss an opportunity to connect students with applying a specific technique to express their interests.

For example, consider teaching weaving to elementary students. Teachers will often teach paper weaving and have students create a colorful and geometric weaving project reflecting kente cloth. As a teacher, you are probably teaching about the rich history of kente cloth to your students. Students practice weaving and create beautiful paper weavings.

You might be thinking, what's wrong with this? As a teacher, we are exposing our students to cultures through artmaking. However, it is important to acknowledge the responsibility we bear to consider the ways we teach cultural and artistic connections.

In our kente cloth weaving project, we are missing an opportunity to teach weaving in a way that explores important qualities and identities cultures form through their textiles. Instead of replicating specific colors and patterns to teach weaving techniques, we can ask our students to connect with ways artists make intentional choices in their fibers to tell a meaningful story.

Teach students how to weave with paper or other materials.

Let them practice techniques, explore various materials, and identify colors and patterns that interest them.

Introduce your students to a variety of cultures that use textiles in meaningful ways.

Ask students to identify what they notice about each culture's textiles and the significance behind each.

Discuss connections and the significance of function, colors, and design demonstrated in each culture.

Guide students to draw their own personal connections to begin creating a personal textile.

Talk to students about cultural appropriation. This is a great opportunity to discuss the differences between replicating and being inspired by others.

Talk to students about intentional decision making and how artists learn from history and rich cultural knowledge to inform their artmaking decisions.

Instead of using kente cloth to teach weaving, teach weaving to introduce kente cloth.
Here are a few easy guidelines to remember:

Replicating other cultural artwork.

Using cultural artwork as a costume.

Using cultural language in a vague or generic context.

Student choice will lead to deeper connections.
What is NOT appropriate:
Choice allows opportunities for students to authentically connect with cultural context. Flipping your teaching practice gives students ownership over an artwork through research and interpretation. When students have to justify their artmaking choices, they will make deeper connections with the cultural context they are researching.

When we teach students how to research, ask students questions about their choices, and point out connections we see between cultural references, students will gain a deeper appreciation of both art and art used in cultural contexts. Be careful not to use a student's choice to avoid educating yourself on a particular culture. Take this opportunity to do some of your own research to help guide and support your students' decision making.

For example, when we teach a project based on a specific cultural context, students will take what we say and create from that lesson. If we teach a pinch pot lesson around sugar skulls and Dia de Los Muertos, students create artwork based on the saturated colors and decorative patterns they see. They only connect as deep as our instruction.

Back to our pinch pot example, we can teach students how to create a pinch pot and then ask them to research their own interests or cultures. You might even provide a list of cultural references to get students thinking about all the different paths to pursue. Students take ownership of their choices and learn to defend their choices by sharing their knowledge of the context they research. When we expose students to a range of cultures but then require them to consider their own interests, students bridge from copying to creating unique and personal artwork through inspiration.

Curiosity, research, and reflection guide our teaching.

Asking questions and thinking deeply are powerful tools in the art room. As teachers, we don't know all the answers. Often, teachers can feel uncomfortable teaching about a culture they may not fully understand themselves. We are afraid to make mistakes, teach something incorrectly, or gloss over important aspects of an unfamiliar culture.

A great way to start a conversation is to infuse questions into your daily practice to guide students through their artmaking choices. For example, while teaching jewelry/metals, I have become keenly aware of how functional art is at high risk for cultural appropriation. When researching, students gravitate toward designs, symbols, or forms they like; they don't always know the contexts those images embody.
A Project to Help Teach Your Students About Appropriation
Engage your students through a scaffolded research approach. You might start by sharing a few specifically chosen resources with your students, such as books or artists' websites. Involve your students in expanding your resources. Creating a Padlet is a great way to have a bank of resources organized by cultures, techniques, and media. Not only are your students helping build resources to share time and time again, but they are visually connecting commonalities between techniques, media, and cultures.
How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation in Your Lessons
Through curiosity and reflection, we can push students beyond the surface of aesthetics. Instead of telling students what to do or not to do, we can lead the conversation to ask students why they are drawn to specific images, colors, and designs. We can teach students how to connect with specific cultures and the rich contexts these items carry.
How to Deal with the Idea of Appropriation in the Art Room

Why is that color important to you?

How do you connect with that particular symbol?

What function does your work have?

How are your choices influenced by cultural significance?

How do your choices represent the meaning you intend?

If this symbol is important to a particular culture, how can you choose a symbol that represents you?

As art teachers, it is our responsibility and obligation to constantly reflect on what and how we teach. Teaching cultures in the context of art is a foundational piece in art education. When we fear teaching something incorrectly, we unintentionally silence our world's rich cultural history that we borrow from on a daily basis. Helping our students gain awareness of these diverse connections through their own artwork develops a deep appreciation for all cultures and their world. In doing so, we demystify the differences and engage in teaching through an anti-racist lens.
Here are some questions to ask your students while they are creating: A special thank you to Jeff Sturgeon and Marie Weston, who helped spark this conversation via our book club and continually asked the hard questions to reflect on our own teaching practices. Another special thank you to Dr. Wynita Harmon for helping steer and hone the conversation to apply to all levels of our art teaching. In what ways do you unintentionally appropriate cultures through your teaching? What questions can you ask students to help guide them in learning about various cultures through their artmaking practice?

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Considering Cultural Appropriation in the Art Classroom - The Art of Education University

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One step to creating an inclusive curriculum is to look at cultural appropriation in the art classroom. It's no surprise that artists create what we know; for centuries, humans reflect what we see, then combine, modify, adapt, and borrow. However, when it comes to reflecting cultures other than our own, we must be intentional and [...]

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Cassie Leatham is from the Taungurung people from the Kulin Nation. She is an Indigenous artist, designer, master weaver, traditional dancer, bushtukka woman and educator.

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Cassie Leatham is from the Taungurung / Wurundjeri people from the Kulin Nation. She is an Indigenous artist, master weaver, traditional dancer, bushtukka woman and educator. She is WILD BLAK and her ARTS will inspire and unite.

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Aboriginal community art centre Baluk Arts 

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Aboriginal community art centre Baluk Arts 

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Aboriginal community art centre Baluk arts runs indigenous workshops in the Mornington shire. Workshop example: Fibre arts - weaving.

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Baluk Arts is an Aboriginal owned and led community arts centre and gallery, the only of its kind in the southeast of the state. Based in Mount Eliza the gateway to the captivating Mornington Peninsula, we support artistic, career and audience development for our Aboriginal artist members from the southeast and wider Australia. Artworks reflect themes of identity in a contemporary cultural context.

Through Baluk Arts, family groups and members of the stolen generation have reconnected with their culture and express their histories through strong artistic practice to support their cultural and creative wellbeing. Baluk Arts encourages artistic excellence, community development, leadership, participation and interaction through innovative arts practices. Baluk Arts programs foster a deeper understanding of Aboriginal arts.

The range of artworks created by Baluk Artists include paintings, sculpture, kelp works, photography, prints, clap sticks, distinctive handmade jewellery, weavings, cards, books, scarves and bespoke items unique to each artist and their story. These works are available to purchase in our gallery, through our exhibition program, online, at art fairs and throughout the year in partner galleries.

Baluk Arts works on a project basis throughout the country and internationally and is open to collaborations, commissions, murals, programs, workshops and bespoke artworks.

Baluk is a local Bunurong and Boonwurrung word meaning 'many' or 'group of people' and reflects the diversity of our artists and their work.

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Baluk Arts is an Aboriginal owned and led community arts centre and gallery, the only one of its kind in the southeast of Victoria. Based in Mount Eliza on Bunurong country, this hub for Aboriginal artists provides a space to come together, to create and to share their culture with the wider community.

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Indigenous teaching resource

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Browse the education programs and resources at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre by topic, year level and availability.

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The NGV is open at NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square.

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Teaching resources for indigenous learners.

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This Aboriginal pedagogy framework is expressed as eight interconnected pedagogies involving narrative-driven learning, visualised learning processes, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelled/scaffolded genre mastery, and connectedness to community. But these can change in different settings.

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This Aboriginal pedagogy framework is expressed as eight interconnected pedagogies involving narrative-driven learning, visualised learning processes, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelled/scaffolded genre mastery, and connectedness to community. But these can change in different settings.

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There is an opportunity for inter-disciplinary collaboration with students learning about the frontier wars.

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It's lunchtime at RMIT University in Melbourne's CBD.

Two students sit on what appears to be a concrete slab, sharing a laugh and a cigarette as they soak up the fading autumn sun.

The students probably don't know it, but what they are lounging on is actually a memorial to the bravery of two Australian men who were once warriors for their country.

The men were fighting a war that took place on home soil, but it's a conflict many Australians know little about.

It was on this spot that two Aboriginal men from Tasmania were the first people to be publicly hanged in Melbourne, almost four decades before Ned Kelly was infamously executed at the nearby Old Melbourne Gaol.

About 6,000 people gathered on January 20, 1842 near a small rise at what is now the intersection of Franklin and Bowen streets, to witness the execution of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, according to the Chronicles of Early Melbourne.

The men were hanged after they had waged a six-week guerilla war against white settlers.

"Such an affecting, appalling, disgusting, execrable scene my eyes never saw," witness James Dredge, a former assistant protector of Aboriginal people, wrote in his diary.

"The unhappy victims werebungleingly [clumsily]and cruelly consigned to their fate."

'Civilise the blacks' of Victoria

The men were among 16 Aboriginal people transported from Tasmania to Victoria by the official 'Protector of Aborigines' for the Port Phillip district, George Augustus Robinson.

Mr Robinson wanted the group from Tasmaniato help "civilise the blacks" in Victoria and he used Tunnerminnerwait to help him investigate frontier conflicts in the western part of the district, according to Deakin University historian Clare Land.

The conflicts included the first recorded mass murder of Aboriginal people in Victoria, the Convincing Ground massacre, near what is now Portland.

While estimates vary, it is believed white whalers killed between 60 and 200 people from the Gunditjmara clan in the massacre, according to the Heritage Council of Victoria.

It was soon after visiting the site of the killing that Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner joined a group of three women including the Tasmanian Aboriginal woman Truganini, who had by then left her role as a negotiator for Mr Robinson.

The group waged a six-week guerrilla-style war against the settlers as they moved towards Wilson's Promontory.

They set cattle stations on fire, stole guns and shot dead two white whalers.

Their motivations for the killing are not fully known, but Dr Land said it may have been linked to the whalers' history of "mistreatment of Aboriginal women".

It was an issue that had hit Truganini's own family, after whalers had killed her mother and partner and abducted her sisters several years earlier.

The conflicts sparked a hunt from officials, who sent out three military groups as well as Aboriginal police officers or 'native police' to search for the guerilla fighters.

The five were eventually captured and charged with murder.

Their trial was widely reported, with the Port Phillip Patriot branding them "black murderers".

The women of the group were acquitted, but Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were convicted and sentenced to death.

The two men were buried in unmarked graves on the site of what is now Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market.

Dr Land said while the exact motives behind the conflicts may never be known, she believed the men died fighting for freedom.

"Coming from Tasmania where these men witnessed full-on genocide ... to then come to Victoria and see the same thing unfolding would have been pretty disturbing and that may have been why they just had enough," Ms Land said.

Honour for 'resisters of colonisation'

In 2016, the City of Melbourne erected a memorial in honour of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner.

It is believed to be the first major city landmark in Australia which acknowledges the Frontier Wars, which were fought between European settlers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 1788 to the 1930s.

Disputes over land led to acts of resistance by Aboriginal people and open massacres of Aboriginal men, women and children by settlers.

The exact number of Indigenous people killed in these conflicts is unknown, but historian Henry Reynolds has estimated the toll runs to tens of thousands.

Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner Memorial Committee convenor, Joseph Toscano, advocated for almost 12 years for the warriors' memorial.

But after a lengthy approval process, the understated marker is often overlooked and misunderstood by the general public.

"It's a monument that should act as an example to other Australians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to find out their local history and then agitate for the creation of more monuments ... to honour the people that were involved in the resistance of colonisation," Dr Toscano said.

"The interesting thing with the monument that was built outside of RMIT is that it's almost even designed to trick people into not realising what it is.

"I think the intention is to point out to white Australians their flippant attitude and ignorance towards these histories."

Community divided on military recognition

But the question of how exactly the Frontier Wars should be remembered in Australia's military history remains a point of contention.

In Tasmania this year, local Indigenous group 'Frontier Wars' were allowed to participate in Hobart's annual Anzac Day march for the first time.

But later, the RSL opposed the group taking part in future Anzac Day marches.

RSL Tasmania CEO Noeleen Lincoln said the parade was not the place for any commemoration of Frontier Wars.

"Nobody is saying the Frontier Wars weren't a disastrous time in our history because they were," she said.

"But Anzac Day originated in 1916 and the Frontier Wars were in some cases centuries before that."

For Aboriginal author and historian Bruce Pascoe, Australia's character was not forged at Gallipoli, but rather at sites like the Convincing Ground massacre in Victoria's south-west.

Pascoe believes recognising colonial violence against Indigenous Australians is the only way to understand modern Australia as we know it.

"We need to acknowledge the fact that there was a land war," Mr Pascoe said.

"We also need to acknowledge that Aboriginal people lost it, that they never ceded the land and those facts are important in the national story and in how the nation moves forward.

"Australia has developed a child's history of our country which eliminates the very murder of an Aboriginal person and the theft of their land.

"Until Australia is prepared to swallow that part of our history then we don't have a conversation."

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The war most Australians know almost nothing about

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It's lunchtime at RMIT University in Melbourne's CBD. Two students sit on what appears to be a concrete slab, sharing a laugh and a cigarette as they soak up the fading autumn sun. The students probably don't know it, but what they are lounging on is actually a memorial to the bravery of two Australian men who were once warriors for their country.

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Victoria's colonial past - frontier warriors

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Victoria's colonial past - frontier warriors

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By Carolyn Webb

Updated first published at

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The city's first monument to two Aboriginal men executed in 1842 will serve as a war memorial to Indigenous people's clashes with colonists, says an artist behind the winning design.

Brightly coloured newspaper vending boxes, a child's swing doubling as a gallows and an Indigenous garden are part of the piece, for which the City of Melbourne is paying $155,000.

The artists' impression of the winning design for the Melbourne monument to Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, two Indigenous men executed in 1842.

Artist Brook Andrew says the monument, Standing by Tunnerminnerwait​ and Maulboyheenner ​, will educate locals and visitors about forgotten colonial wars between Europeans and Aborigines.

The council will on Friday announce Mr Andrew and fellow artist Trent Walter as winners of a year-long design competition for a permanent marker at the corner of Franklin and Victoria streets.

Newspaper stands telling stories of frontier wars are a centrepiece of the winning design for the monument.

One of the judges, Indigenous architect Jefa​ Greenaway, said Mr Andrew and Mr Walter's entry would be a "powerful gesture" in conveying an important story. It would spark curiosity and encourage engagement.

The site, near RMIT, Old Melbourne Gaol and the City Baths, is near where, on January 20, 1842, 5000 people watched Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner hang for two murders.

It was the first public hanging in the colony.

The Tasmanian pair were dubbed bloodthirsty outlaws, but activists have campaigned for their recognition as freedom fighters resisting white settlement.

Artists Brook Andrew, left, and Trent Walter, whose design has been chosen for the new Melbourne CBD monument. Credit:City of Melbourne

Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, with three Indigenous women, had waged a guerilla campaign, robbing and clashing with settlers from Dandenong to South Gippsland.

They were captured in November 1841 and were tried and convicted of murdering two whalers at Western Port.

Mr Andrew, speaking from London, where his art is being exhibited at Tate Britain gallery, said it was the first time an Australian city had created a memorial for frontier wars and was "just the start" for Australians to face traumatic aspects of its past.

He hopes the monument achieves visibility, and becomes a focus for contemplation and understanding about inter-generational trauma, anger and the need for closure.

"It is a war memorial, absolutely. Except it's not rendered in Western fashion."

The monument would be an "immersive experience". Native Tasmanian and Victorian plants "evoking healing and sustenance" would invite visitors in.

The apparent frame of a child's swing could also be seen as a gallows, and below it would be a stone bench, representing reflection, a tomb, and the weight of history.

Metal 'newspapers' inside the six newspaper stands will be inscribed with the stories of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, and of colonial and pre-colonial Aboriginal life.

Ballarat indigenous artist Aunty Marlene's depiction of the 1842 hanging. Credit:City of Melbourne

On Thursday, the council also opened Executed in Franklin Street, a free art exhibition about Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, on at City Gallery in Melbourne Town Hall until February 1.

It includes a large recent painting imagining the execution scene by Aunty Marlene Gilson, a Wadawurrung elder.

Curator Paola Balla said the council commissioned and has acquired the work, one of few paintings to depict the 1842 hangings.

Councillor Rohan​ Leppert​ said the exhibition and monument would put the focus on a "crucial part of Melbourne's history, but also comment on our city today by allowing us to acknowledge a shared history".

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standing by tunnerminnerwait and maulboyheenner

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Artist says new monument to executed Aborigines is a 'war memorial'

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By Carolyn Webb Updated first published at Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The city's first monument to two Aboriginal men executed in 1842 will serve as a war memorial to Indigenous people's clashes with colonists, says an artist behind the winning design.

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Explaining the colonial past.... discussion point. Why is it problematic.

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When Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol tore down the statue of a slave trader in summer 2020, it sparked public debate about how the UK handles and presents the darker parts of its history. In response to this, numerous museums and heritage bodies have taken a look at their collections' links to slavery and empire and the best way to handle them.

Unhappy about the way some have called for removal of contentious items, names and monuments, particularly statues, the government has announced a new "retain and explain" policy. This aims to protect controversial monuments and artefacts from removal, instead asking for more information to be provided about them. As culture secretary Oliver Dowden put it, the policy is an attempt to "defend our culture and history from the noisy minority of activists constantly trying to do Britain down".

As part of the policy, historic statues are given legal protection independent of whether the public heritage body Historic England has listed them as significant. All historic statues, plaques and other monuments can now only be removed once full planning permission has been obtained, making it difficult to take down controversial monuments.

At first glance, the notion that controversial statues should be explained and contextualised seems like a step in the right direction. However, for many activists and museum workers, this new law might feel like a step backwards. The emphasis of this law is clearly on the museum's "duty to the nation to conserve and preserve our heritage," but with a very narrow view of that heritage.

Addressing colonial history

Over the past decade, many museums have been working hard to bring previously ignored histories and voices into the museum space. This process is known as decolonisation. It aims to tell the colonial history of our museums from multiple perspectives and recognises that how we used to collect and display artefacts has had harmful impacts and in some cases continue to reinforce stereotypes.

Simply adding more explanation to these displays is not always enough to combat these long established stereotypes. Museums might not have enough information or even know enough about the cultural practices in question or how the objects were acquired to put them in the appropriate context.

In other cases, only specific aspects of a culture were collected, which sought specifically to reinforce prejudices that they were "primitive" and "savage", making it difficult to present a balanced view. A good example is the recent decision by the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford to remove the "Treatment of Dead Enemies" display, which among other objects held shrunken heads and remains. The decision was prompted by audience research showing that the display was not able to adequately explain the practice, which occurs across several cultures.

Displays of power

To be successful, decolonisation needs to go beyond merely changing labels. It should represent more diverse stories, while at the same time addressing structural racism within our institutions.

According to the Museum Association:

Decolonisation is not simply the relocation of a statue or an object; it is a long-term process that seeks to recognise the integral role of empire in British museums - from their creation to the present day. Decolonisation requires a reappraisal of our institutions and their history and an effort to address colonial structures and approaches to all areas of museum work.

The proposal that monuments must be preserved at any cost falls within a view of heritage that privileges white and upper-class narratives. While there is no comprehensive list of all statues and monuments in the UK, most of them commemorate rich white men. Out of the 610 named statues recorded by the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, only three are of are of black individuals. Only 4% of London's Blue Plaques commemorate black and Asian people.

The idea that heritage must be preserved in its current form for an imagined future generation, leaves little room for necessary transformations and change. This long-held idea is one that museums have been trying to move away from as they try to embrace a more activist and active role, in today's society.

The retain and explain policy fails to acknowledge that heritage and monuments not only represent history but are also displays of power. What we preserve as heritage shows what and who we value as a society. So those who are commemorated in public spaces - and those who are not - signifies who belongs and who does not. An explanatory label or QR code will not change these visual cues.

While contextualising contested history is a step in the right direction, issuing a blanket protection for all monuments, whether listed or not, avoids a meaningful and deeper re-evaluation of the values of our society. It avoids discussion of whether we still feel it is appropriate for controversial statues to be a prominent feature of our cities. Cities and museum do not have an unlimited amount of display space. How can we diversify our heritage if the prime locations are already taken up by the privileged few?

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Statues: the UK's plan to 'retain and explain' problem monuments is a backwards step

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The proposal that monuments must be preserved at any cost hinders rather than helps institutions handle the decolonisation of their collections.

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Great resource for understanding self determination and why it's important for the future of Australia.

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Definitions of sovereignty

Sovereignty is a word that's used a lot in discussions about Aboriginal issues. But what does it mean?

Under current international law, sovereignty is defined as follows:

"Sovereignty in the sense of contemporary public international law denotes the basic international legal status of a state that is not subject, within its territorial jurisdiction, to the governmental, executive, legislative, or judicial jurisdiction of a foreign state or to foreign law other than public international law."

The Wikipedia defines sovereignty as "a state or a governing body [that] has the full right and power to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies" .

Sovereignty cannot 'exist', it can only be asserted, claimed or taken. If it is taken, this can be through conquest by a sovereign entity (after a war and subsequent treaty of surrender or complete destruction), cession (a sovereign entity cedes, through a treaty, part or all of its power to another sovereign entity) or settlement (a territory is completely uninhabited by people).

Sovereignty is recognised reciprocally, meaning that sovereign entities (usually nations) recognise each other's sovereignty.

Sovereignty vs self-determination

It can be difficult to distinguish the two terms. 'Self-determination' is a more loose word for 'sovereignty'. Sometimes, it is used as an alternative, while other times it is used to describe a form of 'limited sovereignty' under the sovereign power of someone else. In international law, sovereignty is a more precise term than self-determination.

Aboriginal definition

For Aboriginal people, sovereignty has three components: land, law and people.

Land

Wiradjuri woman Jenny Munro explains how sovereignty is linked to land:

"It means we have right to this land. It is our land. We never ceded the right to the land, the sea and the air. We have never given that right away. We never told white people in any way that we had given them this country. There are no contracts of any sort, no treaties. It is still our land.

"White people keep perpetuating nationhood on a lie. They said the country was terra nullius and Mabo was supposed to have knocked that on the head but in every school they still talk about Captain Cook, and explorers discovering country.

"This year [2015] for example, they will celebrate the two- hundred year so-called discovery of the path across the Blue Mountains. They didn't discover anything. They followed a Blackfella up the path. That was our trading track with the Sydney people, the Eora and Wiradjuri trading track. Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were not the first people to cross the Blue Mountains."

Law

Reverend Dr Djiniyini Goṉḏarra OAM, Senior Elder Dhurili Clan Nation and Chairman of Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation, explains how law relates to sovereignty (Madayin = Yolngu law system):

"We believe we have never been conquered and we are not subject to the Australian or British law but still maintain our own sovereignty. We still have our language and practice our Madayin law and as one of the first peoples we assent to the Madayin law not Australian law. Still we want to find a way forward. So, if the Law we have always assented to is not recognised then there can never be a real rule of Law only lawlessness and true justice can never exist for our people and the communities we live in."

Sovereignty has been confirmed by Australian courts

Michael Ghillar Anderson, Convener of Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic, has worked tirelessly for the sovereignty of his people. He has unearthed a judicial gem, a court decision that acknowledges Aboriginal peoples' sovereignty in 1841.

At the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Melbourne in April 1841, Justice J. Willis ruled over the murder of an Aboriginal man . The Justice made some remarkable statements in his judgement (my emphasis):

"...if this colony were acquired by occupying such lands as were uncultivated and unoccupied by the natives, and within the limits of the sovereignty asserted under the commission, the aborigines would have remained unconquered and free, but dependent tribes, dependent on the colonists as their superiors for protection; their rights as a distinct people cannot, from their peculiar situation, be considered to have been tacitly surrendered. But the frequent conflicts that have occurred between the colonists and the Aborigines within the limits of the colony of New South Wales, make it, I think, sufficiently manifest that the Aboriginal tribes are neither a conquered people, nor have tacitly acquiesced in the supremacy of the settlers."

"I repeat that I am not aware of any express enactment or treaty subjecting the Aborigines of this colony to the English colonial law, and I have shown that the Aborigines cannot be considered as Foreigners in a Kingdom which is their own."

Justice Wills found that "the colonists and not the aborigines are the foreigners; the former are exotics, the latter indigenous, the latter the native sovereigns of the soil, the former uninvited intruders."

Free book: Aboriginal Sovereignty - Justice, the Law and Land

The concept of treaty was presented in 1987 to draw attention to the fact that Aboriginal sovereignty has never been ceded to the British Crown or the Australian Commonwealth government.

Aboriginal Sovereignty - Justice, the Law and Land by Kevin Gilbert resonates in the contemporary era as a foundation stone to the Sovereignty Movement, by casting a web around the fundamental legal argument that sovereignty has never been ceded by First Nations and Peoples in the land now known as Australia.

There is a viable pathway for recovery from the ongoing genocidal onslaught. Kevin Gilbert's well researched work provides an uncomplicated definitive legal argument based on international law and clarifies the concept of pre-existing and continuing sovereignty.

Download Aboriginal Sovereignty from iTunes.

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Sovereignty is a word that's used a lot in discussions about Aboriginal issues. But what does it mean? Under current international law, sovereignty is defined as follows: "Sovereignty in the sense of contemporary public international law denotes the basic international legal status of a state that is not subject, within its territorial jurisdiction, to the governmental, executive, legislative, or judicial jurisdiction of a foreign state or to foreign law other than public international law."

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First Nations histories and culture - resources

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First Nations histories and culture - resources

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Resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

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Resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

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Resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures with links to free and other resources

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Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating | Compose spoken, written and multimodal learning area texts | compose and edit longer and more complex learning area
Critical and Creative Thinking (Level 6)

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions | Consider alternatives | speculate on creative options to modify ideas when circumstances change
Personal and Social Capability (Level 6)

Self-management | Work independently and show initiative | establish personal priorities, manage resources effectively and demonstrate initiative to achieve personal goals and learning outcomes
Intercultural Understanding (Level 6)
Interacting and emphasising with others | Communicate across cultures | analyse the complex relationship between language, thought and context to understand and enhance communication

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Expressing culture and learning through narrative

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Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating | Compose spoken, written and multimodal learning area texts | compose and edit longer and more complex learning area Critical and Creative Thinking (Level 6) Generating ideas, possibilities and actions | Consider alternatives | speculate on creative options to modify ideas when circumstances

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You've come to the right place. And you're not alone. Many want to learn more about Aboriginal culture, sometimes for the first time.

Creative Spirits is an extensive resource for students, teachers and those hungry to know what they weren't taught-the truth.

I've distilled hundreds of sources into in-depth articles, an ebook, infographics and multimedia for you to explore.

Start by checking if you still believe the myths you have been told. Get your free list now!

Get the myths list

Thanks for spreading the word-and thank you for your cultural sensitivity.
- Laura, Wamba Wamba people

Archived by Pandora, Australia's Web Archive, est. by the National Library of Australia.

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Helping you learn and teach about Aboriginal culture

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You've come to the right place. And you're not alone. Many want to learn more about Aboriginal culture, sometimes for the first time. Creative Spirits is an extensive resource for students, teachers and those hungry to know what they weren't taught-the truth.

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Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency

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'What was before Lord Vestey born and I born? It was blackfella country.' Vincent Lingiari (Wattie Creek 1966)

Australia's First Peoples have been living on the Australian continent for millenia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is made up of many different and distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws. They are the world's oldest surviving culture; cultures that continue to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.

The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. It was created in 1996 as part of the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia project and attempts to show language, social or nation groups based on published sources available up to 1994.

The map shows only the general locations of larger groups of people which may include smaller groups. There are also variations in the way that some language or group names are spelt. You can view some of these alternate spellings on the list of alternate spellings for names on the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia below.

Note that the borders between groups are purposefully represented as slightly blurred and are not meant to be exact. Some of the information shown on the map is contested and may not be agreed to by some traditional custodians - the map isn't suitable for native title or other land claims.

The map isn't the only source of information; if you would like more information about Australian Indigenous languages please see our Austlang database. The National Native Title Tribunal also produces maps that show native title claims determinations.

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The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.

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In the 8 ways resource, suggestions for teaching first nations students include creative open-ended assignments, outdoor classes to connect with country and celebrating contemporary indigenous culture. Students making meaningful connections with the country on which they live and study through an acknowledgement of country and engaging with the flora still used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders today. These exercises tie in well with embodied and observational drawing and Aboriginal heritage talk with a local indigenous guide at the Royal Botanic Gardens https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/melbourne-gardens/what-s-on-melbourne/aboriginal-heritage-walk/
Mark making from hand made brushes and noticing through walking methodologies and sound scape in addition to engaging with local first nations people.

Engaging with GLAM resources such as the Melbourne Museum, Koori council, NGV and the Immigration museum. I see this curriculum having the possibility to be inter-disciplinary with humanities, english or science.  Place based land based nature based

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Browse objects and stories by place name.

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Royal Botanic Gardens Aboriginal Heritage walk

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Royal Botanic Gardens Aboriginal Heritage walk

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Womin Djeka! Journey into Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, a significant cultural site for the local Kulin Nation, with a First Peoples guide. Gain insight into the rich history and thriving culture of the First Peoples of Australia through a journey of identifying significant native plants within…

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Dadirri - deep listening on Boon Wurrung country

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Dadirri - deep listening on Boon Wurrung country

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I would like to begin by acknowledging the Boon Wurrung people, the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. I extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Sovereignty was never ceded... always was, always will be.

I am in my backyard, eyes closed, listening. There is a stillness -  the rustling of the leaves gently blowing in the breeze. A magpie perched on our fence, whistling. I love their call.  I listen and hear the reply.
In the distance I can hear the train approaching the station. With a jolt the stillness all but disappears. The magpie flies..

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material. To listen to our Acknowledgement of Country, click here.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material. To listen to our Acknowledgement of Country, click here.

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Developing curriculum - how to avoid appropriation

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Developing curriculum - how to avoid appropriation

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Although this is written with the first nations people of Canada in mind, it is just as applicable for Australian teachers.

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Section 4: Incorporating Diverse Sources of Indigenous Knowledge

When selecting resources for your curriculum, it is important to incorporate authentic Indigenous resources. But what does it mean to be authentic? And how can such resources be incorporated in a respectful way? As a curriculum developer, it can sometimes be hard to know if efforts to bring Indigenous content and pedagogy into curriculum are a respectful inclusion or an instance of cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation can be understood as using intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone's culture without permission. It is most likely to be harmful when the source culture is a group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways (as with Indigenous Peoples), or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive or sacred (Scafidi, 2005). However, it is not always simple to identify when cultural appropriation is occurring. Let's explore two examples of learning experiences that use creating poles to understand the nuances of cultural appropriation.

In the learning exchange video series "appropriation," Susan Dion gives the example of elementary school educators having their students make "totem" poles out of cardboard boxes. She explains that this activity trivializes the importance of poles in Haida culture. Dion compares making totem poles to having children make a model of a Catholic chalice and host and pretending to give and take first communion. This would be clearly recognizable as inappropriate and offensive.

The University of Victoria's course, "Thunderbird/Whale Protection and Welcoming Pole: Learning and Teaching in an Indigenous World" for the faculty of education was pedagogically based in an Indigenous teaching and learning experience. The course involved the construction and installation of a thunderbird/whale house pole, and pre-service teachers, education graduate students, and faculty worked alongside an Aboriginal artist-in-residence and an Aboriginal mentor carver/educator. As part of an interactive learning community, the students experienced the principles of traditional Indigenous ways of teaching and learning including, mentorship and apprenticeship learning; learning by doing; learning by deeply observing; learning through listening, telling stories, and singing songs; learning in a community; and learning by sharing and providing service to the community.

In the first example, cultural appropriation occurred for the following reasons:

Indigenous communities that created totem poles have been exploited through colonialism in many other ways. They were not involved in the assignment to make poles, and they did not grant permission to the teacher to make poles.

Poles have a spiritual significance, which was not honoured in the activity.

The creating of the poles was not interwoven with Indigenous approaches but was a one-off assignment within a predominantly Westernized approach.

In the second example, making poles was a respectful activity for the following reasons:

Indigenous community experts were actively involved.

The activity was deeply integrated with Indigenous pedagogical approaches.

The spiritual significance of the pole was recognized by following proper protocols and values.

Cultural appropriation can feel like an ambiguous topic, and the fear of appropriating may lead educators to shy away from Indigenous content or issues. But this is not an acceptable response. Instead, what is required is that educators think through considerations of cultural appropriation carefully. They need to build connections with Indigenous communities so that they can incorporate Indigenous culture in ways that are not harmful or exploitative. This may be harder work than simply adding an Indigenous text, speaker, or activity into a course, but it is the responsibility of all educators to engage in this work.

This history is a shared history. It's our shared history. If you live on this land, then you're in a relationship with First Nations people whether you know it or not. So teaching the history, teaching the content is your responsibility. And I say that, but with a word of caution, because you can appropriate, and sometimes make a mistake around appropriating ... If you don't feel comfortable, then that's an indicator that what you're planning to do is maybe not a good idea. Sometimes if you think, "If an Aboriginal Elder came into my classroom and saw me doing this, would I feel defensive?" And if you answer yes, then it's probably not a good idea to do that.

- Susan Dion, 2013

Activity 1: Including Indigenous Stories

Time: 5 min

Type: Individual

In this video Including Indigenous Stories, Dr. Jo-ann Archibald (Stó:lō Nation) explains how stories reflect a worldview and discusses how we need to be aware of and understand protocol, context, and process when using Indigenous stories whether they are traditional or based on personal experiences.

Activity 2: Reflection on Cultural Appropriation

Time 10 min

Type: Reflection

Reflect on the following questions:

1. Have you seen examples of cultural appropriation? Have you seen examples where culture was integrated respectfully? How did they feel different?

2. In your work, who could you turn to for advice on how and when to use Indigenous knowledge in your curriculum?

Authentic resources

Another important consideration is how to recognize authentic Indigenous resources. In some cases, resources dealing with Indigenous content may contain inaccurate information or unfairly represent the unique experiences and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples. This can promote stereotypes and misunderstanding. In contrast, authentic resources can deepen understanding by bringing Indigenous voices and perspectives into the curriculum.

It is not always easy to identify authentic Indigenous texts. According to the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC, 2016), authentic First Peoples' texts are historical or contemporary texts that:

Present authentic First Peoples' voices (are created by First Peoples or through the substantial contributions of First Peoples);

Depict themes and issues that are important within First Peoples' cultures (e.g., loss of identity and affirmation of identity, tradition, healing, role of family, importance of Elders, connection to the land, the nature and place of spirituality as an aspect of wisdom, the relationships between individual and community, the importance of oral tradition, the experience of colonization and decolonization);

Incorporate First Peoples' storytelling techniques and features as applicable (e.g., circular structure, repetition, weaving in of spirituality, humour).

In trying to decide whether a resource is authentic, you may consider:

Using pre-vetted resource lists such as the ones developed by First Nations Education Steering Committee.

Consulting with the Indigenous education office at your organization.

Reaching out to other educators who incorporate Indigenous resources and content in their classrooms. Ask them how they chose their resources. What factors did they consider?

Ensuring that proper copyright and protocols have been followed to obtain permission, particularly when using resources found online (such as songs or artwork).

It is important to recognize that local cultural protocols exist around the use of Indigenous resources. In the mainstream academic system, copyright is used to ensure permission for written resources. In Indigenous cultures, oral permission is required to use cultural materials or practices such as legends, stories, songs, designs, crests, photographs, audiovisual materials, and dances. These practices and materials are often owned by specific individuals, families, or groups, and permission to use them may be considered in the context of your relationships with the owners, your intent, and the way in which you will be sharing the practices or materials. If you or your institution have not obtained permission, it is important to investigate and secure permission from relevant individuals, artists, families, Elders, hereditary Chiefs, Band Councils, or Tribal Councils prior to using any materials. Permission may be specific to a single use; if you are using the resource for a different context than permission was originally obtained for, you may need to reach out to seek permission again.

For more information on deciding whether a resource is appropriate, review pages 8-16 of the guide In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 Classroom [PDF]. Although this guide was developed for K-3 educators, it includes many important considerations when choosing authentic Indigenous resources.

Activity 3: Authentic Indigenous Resources (I)

Time: 10 min

Type: Individual

Consider the following resources and determine if they are authentic Indigenous resources. Why or why not? You can do this activity with the actual resources selected from your university library. Ask a librarian to help set up a similar exercise, and then invite colleagues to join for a discussion of authentic resources.

You will see that the answers can be quite complex, and many resources require thought and further investigation to ensure authenticity.

Note: If you are not using the online version of this resource, you can access the question and answers in Appendix G.

Resources

Activity 4: Integrating Indigenous Resources in Your Curriculum (I)

Time: 60 min

Type: Individual

Choose a curriculum that you have developed or that you are currently developing. Integrate Indigenous resources into the curriculum and provide a rationale for why you chose those resources. When you are considering which resources to use in developing your curriculum, consider:

Who could you reach out to for recommendations?

How can you find local resources?

How can you find First Nations, Métis, and Inuit resources?

How might you involve non-textual resources, such as dance, art, oral stories, and ceremony?

using intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone's culture without permission. It is most likely to be harmful when the source culture is a group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways (as with Indigenous Peoples), or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive or sacred.

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Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers

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Section 4: Incorporating Diverse Sources of Indigenous Knowledge When selecting resources for your curriculum, it is important to incorporate authentic Indigenous resources. But what does it mean to be authentic? And how can such resources be incorporated in a respectful way?

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Located in the cultural heart of Narrm (Melbourne) by the banks of the Birrarung Marr (River of Mists - Yarra River), we are a not for profit First Peoples arts and cultural organisation providing opportunities for all to learn, connect and re-connect with the rich living cultural heritage of Aboriginal Victoria.

We are open daily, 10am - 5pm (excluding Victorian and national public holidays).
Ngoong Godjin | Thank You

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Koorie Heritage Trust - Discover Aboriginal Victoria!

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The Koorie Heritage Trust is a 30 year old Aboriginal owned and managed not‐for‐profit organization that supports, promotes and celebrates the living culture of the Indigenous peoples of south-east Australia.

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This padlet has been designed as a resource for Victorian visual art teachers to teach a culturally responsive curriculum.

In particular, I have identified a real need in providing teachers some strategies to address the Aboriginal and Torres Stait Islander AITSL's teaching standard and as such, some of these resources are tailored particularly to First Nations ways of knowing. They are by no means an exhaustive list and I mean this as a collaborative resource for my fellow teachers to add to with ideas for lessons.

A culturally responsive pedagogy can be applied to all diverse artists and social justice causes as a remedy to replication, cultural appropriation, apathy and low engagement.  When student are encouraged to create through experiential exploration, their ideas will be original and lead to authentic art experiences.

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Engage local indigenous communities

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An antedote to apathy, cultural appropriation and replication

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An antedote to apathy, cultural appropriation and replication

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Heide Museum of Modern Art - Scarred tree

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Film - Jo Clyne (producer) , 'Yingabeal - The Wurundjeri Scarred Tree at Heide Museum of Modern Art', 2016, History Teachers' Association of Victoria

UNCLE BILL NICHOLSON: In Victoria, for a tree to qualify as a traditional scarred tree, it must be at least 165 years old, and a species indigenous to the area.

DUGALD NOYES: It would have evidence of Aboriginal cultural significance, meaning that, at some stage material has been removed to fashion some form of implement or canoe.

Scarred trees get their name from the fact that a scar is left on the tree this was generally done on the south-eastern side of the tree which helped aid in the healing process of the scar, which will eventually close over by the trees natural defenses of healing.

Scarred trees generally occur in groups of three we know of another sister tree down on the corner of Manningham Road and Bridge Street.

DR JIM POULTER: Well the scarred tree at Heide, as far as I'm aware, is six or seven hundred years old and apart from having had a canoe carved out of it at some stage, perhaps a few hundred years ago, it also fulfills the role of what's known as a marker tree, and a marker tree may be a scarred tree, a spiral tree, it may be two trees tied together, which marks a travel route known as songlines.

And this tree is very important because it actually marks the convergence point of songlines that head in five different directions.

So it's probably the most important marker tree in Melbourne.

UNCLE BILL NICHOLSON: So Yingabeal means, 'yinga' means 'sing' or 'song' and 'beal' is our name for the 'red gum'. So I suppose you could translate that into Songtree or Singtree. Aboriginal people all over Australia did not use a written culture, we communicated in other ways.

Some of those ways were through storytelling, through example, through art, and through song, and through dance. Singing, or being taught different songlines, as we called them, was a way to help with your memory.

As we all may realise, our favourite music, our favourite songs, we normally memorise the lyrics and the beat, and that's why we are attracted to that type of music. In the traditional culture, it was a way of memorising the landscape around you, where to travel, how to travel through the landscape, where important aspects of the landscape may be.

And there were actually marker trees out there, very similar to your road signs that you'll find on the side of your road, giving you advice of what you should do when you're driving the car.

Well these marker trees could give you advice, everything from burial sites, areas of boundary, areas of birthing places. Pretty much they're all relevant on our significant sites of culture for information - what people need to travel through the landscape.

DR JIM POULTER: A songline, it's called a songline because Aboriginal people used songs, as part of their navigational system. In a sense, it was very like modern cars GPS system, which tells you 'turn left in 200 metres' etc.

But the Aboriginal song would say things like 'turn left at the scar tree at Heide', 'go down to the ford at the river at Warringal Park', 'go up Burgundy Street to the top of the hill, then follow, Bell Street.. cross over Darebin Creek, cross over Merri Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek...' you know.

All of these instructions would be actually coded into a song, and before you had to go somewhere, you had to learn the song.

UNCLE BILL NICHOLSON: Well, unfortunately, due to the heavy impacts of colonisation on Wurundjeri culture, I have not been taught any traditional songlines. But aspects of it are, information you need to know for your survival, and cultural protocol I suppose.

If you're a man, you don't go near a woman's birthing area for instance, so that may be a part of the songline. A boundary marker to let young people know when they travel over these boundaries, that they are in someone else's country, and there are certain protocols they must respect. So it would have been very important, I suppose, life skills - taught to you when growing up in a traditional childhood into young adult hood, and then having those skills taught to you, and having those skills and knowledge as an adult, and songlines was part of conveying that knowledge from the elders.

DR JIM POULTER: The thing about songlines is that they stretched for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles, so just as we have to have a passport when travelling through other countries, Aboriginal people had passports too, and if you were going through another tribes country, then you had to sing the song of the songline, in their language, and that was your passport. Of course, if you were not on the songline and skulking around, you could be arrested, and deported or worse.

And as well as singing the directions on a songline, there's also a process called 'singing country', where you just sung in praise of the country, so if you were travelling through another tribes land, and you actually didn't know their language, if you just 'sang country'
as you went through, you would still be safe.

KENDRAH MORGAN: The interesting thing is that the songlines are like gentle paths through the landscape, that the colonists and settlers also used. So as they were used more continuously, they became broader paths, and roads, that we probably now use today.

So in many ways the Indigenous history is embedded in the landscape. We're pretty sure that one of the songline tracks existed at Heide when John and Sunday moved here, and they used to use it to take the cows from the milking shed down to the river at the river crossing.
And I guess in that way, the songline became part of the daily rhythm of John and Sunday's lives here at Heide.

DR JIM POULTER: In looking at the Heide scarred tree, I would estimate that the original scar was about 3 metres long, so it would have been a 3 metre long canoe, for punting around the river flats in the area. And you can tell that because once the cut is made, the bark starts to regrow and you can tell where the regrowth is because it crowns around the scar as it pushes towards and to limit the size of the scar.

You can also tell the highest point and the lowest point of the scar, by looking at where that crowning of the bark, of the new bark, goes. So, originally it would have been a metre wide, by about 3 metres long.

UNCLE BILL NICHOLSON: Wurundjeri traditional culture - we had one of the more, I suppose, valued assets in south-east Australia. It's called the green stone, green stone was quarried about 130km from where we're standing today, at a place called Wil-im-ee Moor-ring - or Home of the Axe. Well, today they call it Mount William.

Those particular axes would be made into a stone axe with a handle, and binded by sinew and glued together with a grass tree glue or sap. Those axes would then be used to create an outline of the bark shape that you're after, so a large canoe would be probably one of the larger pieces of bark we'd take, or a shelter. Everything down to small bowls, and drying boards and things like that.

But the bark was removed to the hardwood, the tree would not suffer for that as it was not ringbarked, and the would continue to grow and eventually heal over the scar.

If you look at the old red gums, they've got big gnarly sort of, bubbles on them, I suppose you could say. We cut them off and hollowed them out, so we'd use the axes to cut them off, hollow them out with stone chisels and so forth, and that could create a bowl of all different
shapes and sizes, for all different purposes.

Here in Victoria, it's hard to say how many Aboriginal people lived before Europeans arrival. Before they arrived anyway, their diseases had impacted us very quickly. So when they arrived, we were - population wise, and culturally wise - fairly decimated as it was.

So for knowledge to be passed down, even from the early beginnings was not easy. Then unfortunately, as part of assimilation policies that were created shortly after European arrival, speaking language and practicing culture actually became illegal.

So for someone like me, born 150 years later, really keen to know my culture and how my old people utilised their resources, and those magnificent skills they had, of utilising the resources - it's not easy.

I find that a mixture of practice, oral history, research, and getting out on country, and getting to understand it. You can get a bit of a feel of the country and it's like that saying 'practice makes perfect', you can tell whether you're doing it the right way, or you do it a different way, or if it's the right season, or whatever it may be.

So to me, to be an Aboriginal cultural Elder, or an Aboriginal Elder today, and that's my identity, I believe that we want to bring our culture back strong for our future generations, so that they can be proud of who they are.

DR JIM POULTER: I've come to know about songlines and a lot of Aboriginal heritage and history because my forebears first settled in Wurundjeri country in 1840 and established very close relationships with the local Aboriginal people, and lots and lots of stories have been passed down my family. And also, we have continued to have intergenerational relationships with Aboriginal families, so we've also had access to Aboriginal oral history as well.

But one of the things that happened, when tribal life was ending in the early 1850s, Simon Wonga, the head man of the tribe, decided to organise one last corroboree. Before that happened, he sent a bunch of boys on an initiation trip to Hanging Rock. And because my great grandfather and brother had immersed themselves in tribal life and learnt the language, they were taken with them.

And it wasn't until many years later I was being told one of the stories by my great uncles about how their father had gone to Hanging Rock, and he made the simple comment 'they sang all the way'. And it took me years to figure out, actually, that they had to learn the song to Hanging Rock. They travelled from Templestowe all the way to Hanging Rock, and sang the song. And of course, to come backwards, to come back, they had to sing the song backwards.

DUGALD NOYES: I'm the head gardiner at Heide, basically, one of my charges is to look after the health and wellbeing of Yingabeal. Yingabeal is actually protected under State legislation under the Aboriginal Heritage Act of 2006. As a river red gum, obviously water is crucial in its health, so during the spring and summer seasons it's my job to make sure that it gets adequate watering, this also helps reduce summer limb drop, a phenomenon where eucalyptus will shed large branches to try and conserve water.

This area of Bulleen was originally the possum farming area for Wurundjeri, they certainly did a good job, we do have a lot of possums here at Heide. This is why we have to have a guard on Yingabeal to stop them eating all of the leaves. Possums are creatures of habit and they tend to pick on one tree. In the past, Yingabeal was completely denuded of foliage, which is not good for the health of the tree.

UNCLE BILL NICHOLSON: I'm standing here near the songtree Yingabeal, it gives me a sense of pride, in the fact that I'm probably standing very close to where one of my ancestors did many hundreds of years ago, in creating this scar that we can see on the tree.

And I always consider, I always try to teach young children or anyone who is willing to listen, if you consider this place your home, you are walking on the footsteps of my ancestors, and really I encourage everybody to learn about the place you call home, and help us all look after it.

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Yingabeal: Indigenous geography at Heide

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Before became an art gallery, it was the home of John and Sunday Reed. They were patrons of the arts who arrived at the property in 1934 and created a place where artists could come to work.