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Find Aboriginal musicians

Categories

Go exploring!

Use the Aboriginal music timeline to view albums over time.

Black Australian music is by no means restricted to playing the didgeridoo, but is just as diverse as white Australian music. Would you have thought that some Indigenous artists play Reggae, Hip Hop or Country?

B.L.A.C.K. - Born Long Ago, Creation's Keeper
- Wire MC, Indigenous rapper

A kind of secret but important social history of Australia is captured in the many songs of Indigenous artists.
- Steven Richardson, Artistic Director, Arts House

If you don't know where to begin check out my Resources Starter Kit which contains recommended essential music, movies and books to get you started.

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Aboriginal musicians & albums (Albums & songs)

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Explore Australian Aboriginal music, browse albums or listen to many sample tracks on YouTube.

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A Guide to Using Respectful and Inclusive Language and Terminology

How we talk about reconciliation is just as important as the actions we take.

Language itself is active. It impacts attitudes, understandings and relationships in a very real sense.

Using respectful and inclusive language and terminology is an essential part of reconciliation and strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.

Consider this guide with advice from your local community. This may help you prepare your written messages, such as your Vision for Reconciliation and Acknowledgement of Country, as well as in everyday communications.

Acknowledging diversity

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and identities are diverse across Australia. Always seek advice from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in your local school or early learning service community on preferences and protocols around respectful language.

Referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Using 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander' is often best practice when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people generally.

'Aboriginals' or 'Aborigines' are generally considered to be outdated terms, while 'Aboriginal' alone is not inclusive of the diversity of cultures and identities across Australia. 'Peoples' or 'people' should always follow.

The term 'Aboriginal peoples' is not inclusive of Torres Strait Islander peoples. Refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples when the intention is to refer to all First Peoples of Australia.

Using 'First Peoples' and 'First Nations' is also generally acceptable. They should always be pluralised. These terms respectfully encompass the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and identities.

This respect for diversity extends to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'histories,' 'perspectives,' 'ways of being' and 'contributions'. These should also be pluralised.

Don't abbreviate 'Aboriginal' or 'Torres Strait Islander,' or use the acronym 'ATSI.'

Never use terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' - they are extremely offensive.

The term 'Indigenous' can offend people in some places. However, there are some situations where the term is accepted, for example:

an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person prefers and/or has approved the word 'Indigenous' to be used

an organisation has appropriately referred to a program or job title (for example, 'Indigenous Programs Unit' or 'Indigenous Programs Manager')

the word 'Indigenous' is appropriately embedded into an organisational policy (for example, the Australian Government's Indigenous Employment Policy)

when referring to non-Indigenous (non-Aboriginal or non-Torres Strait Islander) Australians - terms such as 'other Australians' or 'the wider community' may also be used.

The difference between 'peoples' and 'people'

'People' (singular) refers to:

a single geo-cultural community (for example, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation)

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander individuals (for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our school community).

'Peoples' (plural) refers to diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities/geo-cultural community groups across Australia.

For example:

the Ngunnawal, Ngambri and Ngarigo peoples of the wider Canberra region

the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures connected to Lands across Australia.

Capitalisation

Always capitalise 'Aboriginal' and 'Torres Strait Islander'. This is a simple yet important way to demonstrate respect.

You should also capitalise:

Indigenous

First Peoples/Nations/Australians

Elders

Traditional Owners/Custodians

Country or Land (when referring to an area of land, sea and sky associated with a distinct group of people or First Nations community)

particular Language groups or geo-cultural communities

Acknowledgement of Country, Welcome to Country, and the names of other cultural practices (particularly when the meanings or perspectives behind the words - such as 'acknowledge' or 'welcome' - are distinct in their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural context).

You do not need to capitalise 'reconciliation,' unless naming Reconciliation Australia as an organisation or referring to a formal program or document, like your Reconciliation Action Plan.

POSSESSIVE LANGUAGE

When referring to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children, students, staff, or wider community members, avoid using possessive language such as ' our.'

References such as ' our First Nations students' or ' our First Nations community' risk implying ownership over people, and do not recognise the self-governance and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities. Such references can be reframed to ' First Nations students within our school community' or ' the local First Nations community '.

Reference to Country/place according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is best described as relationships with rather than ownership of/over. For example ' we acknowledge Kaurna people's connection to this Land' or ' we acknowledge the Kaurna People as Traditional Custodians of this Land'.

Avoiding deficit and dichotomous language

Reconciliation involves acknowledging and addressing the injustices and inequities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have faced since colonisation. These may be historical, inter-generational and/or continuing.

However, it is also important to:

acknowledge the strength and resilience Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and communities show in the face of discrimination

celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributions in shaping a shared sense of national unity and identity.

Draw on empowering, strengths-based language, and do not use patronising or paternalistic speech.

For example, look at the difference between:

deficit language: 'helping disadvantaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students'

strengths-based language: 'providing meaningful opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to achieve their full potential'

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures have survived across the Australian continent for tens of thousands of years. They are not 'in need' of being 'rescued' or 'saved.'

Reconciliation is about working collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, not doing things 'for them' or 'to them'.

Avoid 'us' and 'them' language when describing reconciliation goals and processes. Instead, promote and build respectful two-way relationships.

CLOSING THE GAP

When referencing ' closing the gap ', add context to distinguish between the Closing the Gap strategy; the Close the Gap campaign; and fostering equality and equity more generally.

Closing the Gap is a government strategy towards addressing national socio-economic targets across areas that have an impact on life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In education, Closing the Gap can be contextualised by referencing one or more of the following targets, while recognising their interrelationship to all other targets:

* Targets 3 - Children are engaged in high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years
* Target 4 - Children thrive in their early years
* Target 5 - Students achieve their full learning potential
* Target 6 - Students reach their full potential through further education pathways

Close the Gap is a campaign that aims to reduce the health and life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. When referencing the Close the Gap campaign clarify the ways and reasons for support.

'Equality and Equity' is one of the five dimensions of reconciliation in Australia and can be referenced when describing actions and aspirations towards addressing colonial injustices reducing relative disadvantage more generally. Consider strengths-based statements and language.

For example, look at the difference between:

* Our school will close the education gap between First Nations and non-Indigenous students (more deficit discourse)

* Our school is committed to fostering equal and equitable education opportunities and outcomes (more strengths-based language)

Recognising currency and continuity

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected to the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.

Recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are alive today - don't use the past tense alone.

In last century's educational texts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were often placed in the ancient past.

These static representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and contributions don't honour their continuing presence and significance.

These representations ignore the tens of thousands of years of active Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributions and connections to Country before colonisation - perpetuating the legal fiction of 'terra nullius' ('land belonging to no one').

European colonisation is very recent compared to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' presence on, and connection with, Country. The reconciliation movement is even more recent.

Consider this when you acknowledge and address the ongoing impacts of Australia's shared histories since colonisation.

Further guidance

For further support, engage with:

If your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community advises any preferred terms are different from the recommendations, please contact us before submitting your RAP.

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Narragunnawali supports all schools and early learning services in Australia to develop environments that foster a high level of knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions. Narragunnawali (pr

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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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AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources

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AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources

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In October 2022 AIATSIS published the Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources (the Guide). The Guide assists non-Indigenous educators, and others to critically self-reflect on history and the effects that this has on pedagogical practises today.

It allows teachers to ensure curriculum resources selected for teaching do not cause harm to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, but rather foster trust and build a sense of pride for all.

The Guide is underpinned by pivotal resources including:

The Curriculum Corporation's 1995 publication, A Resource Guide for Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies;

The Queensland Studies Authority's 2007 document, Guidelines Indigenous Perspectives: Selecting and evaluating resources; and

The AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research.

The Guide supports educators to make conscious and critical decisions when selecting curriculum resources, to ensure they reflect all children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and cause no harm.

The Guide will also assist teachers to select appropriate resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

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AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources

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In October 2022 AIATSIS published the Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources (the Guide). The Guide assists non-Indigenous educators, and others to critically self-reflect on history and the effects that this has on pedagogical practises today.

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Indigenous Literature Resources - Resources to support the teaching of texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors

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Indigenous Literature Resources - Resources to support the teaching of texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors

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Resources to support the teaching of texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors
Compiled by Cara Shipp
In order to treat texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors with due respect in the classroom, educators will need to think beyond 'teaching the text'. Texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors generally reflect a body of cultural knowledge and an experience of history which is not commonly understood by non-Indigenous people. Therefore, educators should learn and teach this context alongside the text.

In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, all of the "key learning areas" in Western education are integrated, and not easily separated: particularly English, the Arts, Geography, History, Science, HPE. Educators may find that making links across curriculum areas and faculties within their school will help to make the teaching of texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors richer.

Themes

About Cara Shipp

Cara Shipp is a Wiradjuri/Welsh woman (descending from the Lamb and Shipp families in Central Western NSW) and currently leads Years 9-12 at Silkwood School, Mount Nathan, in the Gold Coast Hinterland. She has previously lived and worked in Canberra and has run alternative educational programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; held Head Teacher English/HASS/Languages positions; and served as President, Vice President and Editor with the ACT Association for the Teaching of English (ACTATE). Cara has completed a Masters in Education focusing on Aboriginal literacy and regularly presents cultural competence training at local and National conferences, particularly within the context of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the English curriculum. In 2013, Cara was part of the ACARA working party on incorporating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority into the Civics and Citizenship curriculum. Cara trained with the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program (leading change in Aboriginal education) and is a trained Stronger Smarter facilitator.

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Compiled by Cara Shipp In order to treat texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors with due respect in the classroom, educators will need to think beyond 'teaching the text'. Texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors generally reflect a body of cultural knowledge and an experience of history which is not commonly understood by non-Indigenous people.

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English Sample Resources - Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority

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English Sample Resources - Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority

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Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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These resources support teachers to embed the cross-curriculum priority 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures' in the Australian Curriculum: English.

English is organised into three interrelated strands: language, literature and literacy. Each strand interacts with and enriches the others in creative and flexible ways.

The tables below identify content descriptions across the strands, as a starting point for teachers' decision-making about how to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. There are, of course, many other opportunities to support this cross-curriculum priority in the curriculum.

The identified curriculum links are supported by sample learning experiences and resources, which may be included in teaching and learning programs. When planning, check with your local community about resources to use - they may be able to suggest others that are more suitable - and how to implement them effectively in your classroom.

Note: Some resources are intended for teachers' background information and may not be suitable for use with students in the classroom without significant prior support or scaffolding.

All links were correct at the time of publication.

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These resources support teachers to embed the cross-curriculum priority 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures' in the Australian Curriculum: English. English is organised into three interrelated strands: language, literature and literacy. Each strand interacts with and enriches the others in creative and flexible ways.

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Common Ground is a First Nations not-for-profit working to shape a society that centres First Nations people by amplifying knowledge, cultures and stories.

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These early learning, primary and secondary curriculum resources help you build practical activities and lessons.

They promote reconciliation and develop children's and students' understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions.

Each resource has elements of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum, and aligns with Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Actions. Use them as-is or adapt them to suit your local community and setting.

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Narragunnawali supports all schools and early learning services in Australia to develop environments that foster a high level of knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions. Narragunnawali (pr

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First Australians - Documentary (History)

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First Australians - Documentary (History)

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The history of Australia from an Indigenous peoples' perspective, beginning with the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney and ending in 1993 with Eddie Kolki Mabo's legal challenge.

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The Message - The Story from the Shore (National Museum of Australia)

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The Message - The Story from the Shore (National Museum of Australia)

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Everyone should watch this powerful piece

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Ricky Campbell and Richard Silva as the two warriors who confront Cook at Kamay (Botany Bay)

That was the translation of the word inscribed on a simple monument at Captain Cook's landing place at Kurnell. Go away, I had supposed, because Cook had written in his journal entry for 29 April 1770, 'as we approached the shore, they all made off except two Men who seem'd resolved to oppose our landing'.

'Go away' seemed a logical deduction. But it isn't true. Certainly, there were two men who seemed apprehensive about the arrival of this 'big canoe' - but, as it turns out, this was for very different reasons.

The true translation of 'warra' in the Dharawal language is 'dead'. So what these men were yelling, probably to their own mob, was that these visitors were all dead, they were all ghosts.

Talking to Ray Ingrey of the Gujaga Foundation in La Perouse, I found out that the meaning of 'warrawarrawa' relates to our peoples' deep beliefs about reincarnation.

It's a story I have heard echoed by Aboriginal people in many parts of Australia, from the southern wilds of Victoria to the tip of Cape York.

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Filmmaker Alison Page reflects on the making of 'The Message: The Story from the Shore.' This collaboration with four communities along the east coast - Narooma, Kamay, Waalumbaal Birri and Possession Island - retells the story of the Endeavour's voyage from an Aboriginal perspective.

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REFERENDUM ROAD TRIP

The Point is the home of First Nations perspectives, informing all Australians in the lead up to the 14 October Referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament

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These movies, series and special events span genres and centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian experiences. From the home of Indigenous storytelling, NITV.

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K'gari Interactive Documentary - Brought to you by SBS

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K'gari Interactive Documentary - Brought to you by SBS

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Produced by SBS in collaboration with Butchulla artist Fiona Foley and academic Larissa Behrendt, K’gari is an innovative, interactive documentary that debunks one of Australia’s first fake news stories by exposing the largely untold Aboriginal version of events. This interactive uses technology to reframe history. Incorporating vivid animation and sound, it leads the user through two versions of the story of British castaway, Eliza Fraser.

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Unleash the natural forces of K'gari to destroy one of Australia's first fake news stories and return Fraser Island to its rightful name.

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Challenging stereotypes. Celebrating identities.  Primary and High School

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WINNER Bologna Prize for the Best Children's Publishers of the Year, Oceania Region

Magabala Books is Australia's leading Indigenous publishing house. Based in Broome, Western Australia, we publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, artists and illustrators from all over Australia. Aboriginal owned and led, we are guided by strong cultural principles and a passion for quality storytelling.

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Comprehensive teacher resources for selected Magabala Books' titles can also be found on the Reading Australia website. These resources were commissioned with funding support from the Copyright Agency Limited.

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The Australian Curriculum identifies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures as a priority area, ensuring it is addressed across learning areas and year levels. We understand that many teachers have found it challenging to teach Indigenous content, perhaps for fear of making a mistake and causing o

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Archie Roach - Took the Children Away (Official video)

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Archie Roach - Took the Children Away (Official video)

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Archie Roach - Took The Children Away  (Official Music Video)

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Briggs - The Children Came Back ft. Gurrumul & Dewayne Everett Smith

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Briggs - The Children Came Back ft. Gurrumul & Dewayne Everett Smith

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Briggs - The Children Came Back ft. Gurrumul & Dewayne Everettsmith (Official Video)

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Think Only Of This Present Moment, a water meditation in Pitjantjatjara and English

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Hunter, Rachael & Emma Donovan walk us through our shared histories and the role we all play in building relationships & communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures and futures.

This program was published 5 months ago.

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Hunter, Rachael & Emma Donovan walk us through our shared histories and the role we all play in building relationships & communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures and futures.

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Little J & Big Cuz - Education Resources

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Little J & Big Cuz - Education Resources

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The Little J & Big Cuz education resources provide support for Early Years (K-2) educators with ideas and options for including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander knowledge, understanding and skills in their teaching and learning programs.

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Your browser does not support JavaScript or it has been disabled. This website relies heavily on JavaScript. How to enable?

We acknowledge the Ancestral Lands, Waterways and Skies of the First Nations peoples and pay our respects to the Elders past, present and future.

The Little J & Big Cuz education resources provide support for Early Years (K-2) educators with ideas and options for including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander knowledge, understanding and skills in their teaching and learning programs.

They are designed to work with the Little J and Big Cuz series which aims to provide children with a sneak peek into the world of school.

The learning documents for each episode have been created as a spring-board for engaging with and embedding Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander perspectives and pedagogies in Early Years education environments from (K-2). The intention is to provide a starting point for educators as they:

engage with local and broader Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities to learn from and with their communities.

engage with local and broader Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities to build authentic relationships.

consider the transitions that take place in children's lives every day and the role of educators to work with children and families to support these transitional moments. These moments of transition can be really big moments, such as the transition from early childhood into Primary school, or other moments such as moving from one space into another, or one learning experience to another.

consider the spaces in their indoor and outdoor environments and the possibilities of the key ideas of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander knowledge and culture and how these can build on current understandings and create new learning opportunities with children, families and community.

engage with their local community to grow a language that shares and respects the voices of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, their knowledge and their cultures.

Acknowledgments:
ACER would like to acknowledge and extend thanks to Priscilla Reid-Loynes, Elizabeth Barret Jackson, Dr Sue Atkinson, and Alison Wunungmurra for their advice and input when acting as the ACER Indigenous Early Years Advisory Committee during the production of the Little J and Big Cuz series and the development of the preschool resources. Thanks and acknowledgement must also be extended to Jess Holland, and Dr Mayrah Driese for acting as critical friends during the development of the (F-2) resources. ACER would also like to extend thanks to Deborah Cohen, Beverley Laing, Greta Rollo, Marc Barrett and Anne Guggar for their contributions to the development of the (F-2) resources.

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SHORTLISTED, 2021 ENVIRONMENT AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Brother Moon is a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson.
Beneath the dark sky of the Northern Territory, Hippy-Boy is captivated when Great-Grandpa Liman tells him the mysterious story of his brother an…

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'Brother Moon' - Picture Book to show connection to Country - Teacher Notes

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'Brother Moon' - Picture Book to show connection to Country - Teacher Notes

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'Young Dark Emu' - Non-fiction Children's Book

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'Young Dark Emu' - Non-fiction Children's Book

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WINNER, 2020 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS, EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS SHORTLISTED, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (AGES 7-12) SHORTLISTED, 2020 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS, PATRICIA WRIGHTSON PRIZE FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE SHORTLISTED, 2020 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL AWARDS FOR LITERATURE SHORTLISTED, 2020 INDIE BOOK AWARDS, CHILDREN'S
Bruce Pascoe has collected a swathe of literary awards for Dark Emu and now he has brought together the research and compelling first person accounts in a book for younger readers. Using the accounts of early European explorers, colonists and farmers, Bruce Pascoe compellingly argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. He allows the reader to see Australia as it was before Europeans arrived - a land of cultivated farming areas, productive fisheries, permanent homes, and an understanding of the environment and its natural resources that supported thriving villages across the continent. Young Dark Emu - A Truer History asks young readers to consider a different version of Australia's history pre-European colonisation.

Praise for Young Dark Emu

"...this book should be required reading for all - it is a gift of knowledge we should all be grateful for."
- Australian Geographic Explorers

"This elegant, accessible and beguilingly informative book should be required reading."
- Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser

"Stunningly presented in striking shades of ochre, orange, black and white, this seminal book invites young readers to contemplate a different picture of Aboriginal culture and the concept of terra nullius."
- Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder, The Canberra Times

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WINNER, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION KIDS' READING GUIDE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER, 2020 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS, EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS SHORTLISTED, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (AGES 7-12) SHORTLISTED, 2020 NSW PREMIER'S

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'Open Your Heart to Country' - Picture Book (English and Art K-2)

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'Open Your Heart to Country' - Picture Book (English and Art K-2)

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'Family' - Picture Book (Year 4 English)

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'Family' - Picture Book (Year 4 English)

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SHORTLISTED, 2021 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, SMALL PUBLISHERS’ CHILDRENS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Family is a thoughtful contemplation for all to learn the different ways that family makes us whole. This beautifully illustrated children’s picture book shows everyone that ‘family’ can be about heart an…

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'Stories of Identity' - Year 4 Unit of Work - English & PDHPE

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'Stories of Identity' - Year 4 Unit of Work - English & PDHPE

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Rob Collins and his team explore the innovative creations that enabled First Nations people to thrive, ranging from transforming volcanic terrains into fish farms to mastering the art of harnessing dangerous fire for survival.

繁體中文, 简体中文, 한국어, العربية, English, Tiếng Việt

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Rob Collins and a team of First Nations investigators delve into 65,000 years of Aboriginal Australian invention, looking at how landscapes were transformed, how events were recorded, the use of navigation tools, and how societies were organised.

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Comparing Indigenous and Western concepts of seasons, ordering Western months and understanding seasonal cycles - Year 2 Maths Unit of Work

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Comparing Indigenous and Western concepts of seasons, ordering Western months and understanding seasonal cycles - Year 2 Maths Unit of Work

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Comparing 12- and 24-hour time systems and Indigenous concepts of time - Year 5 Maths

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Comparing 12- and 24-hour time systems and Indigenous concepts of time - Year 5 Maths

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Ex IGS student presentation

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Indigenous Weather Knowledge - D'harawal calendar

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Indigenous Weather Knowledge - D'harawal calendar

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D'harawal calendar

The D'harawal Country and language area extends from the southern shores of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to the northern shores of the Shoalhaven River, and from the eastern shores of the Wollondilly River system to the eastern seaboard.

Burran

Hot and dry
January-March

Male kangaroos aggressive
Meat forbidden
 Weetjellan blooming

Marrai'gang

Wet becoming cool
April-June

Quolls seeking mates
 Lillypilly ripens

Burrugin

Cold and frosty
June-July

Echidna seeking mates
Burringoa flowering
 Shellfish forbidden

Wiritjiribin

Cold and windy
July-August

Lyrebird building mounds
Marrai'uo flowering
Boo'kerrikin flowering
 Gentle spring rains

Ngoonungi

Cool becoming warm
September-October

Flying foxes appear
Ceremonial time
 Miwa Gawaian in flower

Parra'dowee

Warm and wet
November-December

Summer heat starts
 Stable weather

Permission to use the D'harawal seasonal calendar is granted by the D'harawal Traditional Knowledgeholders' and Descendents' Circle.

D'harawal seasons

Navigate back up to the calendar overview with the links at the end of each season.

Time of Burran
January-March
Gadalung Marool-hot and dry

Gymea lily by Mark Wilgar

The behaviour of the male kangaroos becomes quite aggressive in this season, and it is a sign that the eating of meat is forbidden during this time. This is a health factor; because of the heat of the day meat does not keep, and the likelihood of food poisoning is apparent.

The blooming of the Weetjellan ( Acacia implexa) is an important sign that fires must not be lit unless they are well away from bushland and on sand only, and that there will be violent storms and heavy rain, so camping near creeks and rivers is not recommended.
April-June
Time of Marrai'gang

Bana'murrai'yung-wet becoming cooler

The time of the year when the cries of the Marrai'gang (Quoll) seeking his mate can be heard through the forests and woodlands, and when the lilly pillys ripen on the trees.
June-late July
However, when the lilly pillys start to fall, it is time to mend the old warm cloaks from last cold season, or make new ones, and begin the yearly trek to the coastal areas.

Time of Burrugin

Echidna, Luke Shelley

Tugarah Tuli-cold, frosty, short days
August
This is the time when the male Burrugin (echidnas) form lines of up to ten as they follow the female through the woodlands in an effort to wear her down and mate with her. It is also the time when the Burringoa ( Eucalyptus tereticornis) starts to produce flowers, indicating that it is time to collect the nectar of certain plants for the ceremonies which will begin to take place during the next season.

It is also a warning not to eat shellfish again until the Boo'kerrikin blooms.

Time of Wiritjiribin
September-October
Tugarah Gunya'marri-cold and windy

The lyrebirds' calls ring out through the bushland as he builds his dancing mounds to attract his potential mates. It is the time of the flowering of the Marrai'uo ( Acacia floribunda) which is a sign that the fish are running in the rivers.

At the end of this time the Boo'kerrikin ( Acacia decurrens) flower, which indicates the end of the cold, windy weather, and the beginning of the gentle spring rains.
November-December
Time of Ngoonungi

Murrai'yunggory-cool, getting warmer

The time of the gathering of the flying foxes. A magical time of the year when the flying foxes gather in the darkening skies over D'harawal Lands. They come in from the north-east, the north, the north-west and the west, and swirl over the Sydney area in a wonderful, sky-dancing display just after sunset, before setting off for the night-time feeding grounds to the south.

But it is also a very important ceremonial time for the D'harawals, which begins with the appearance of the splashes of the bright red Miwa Gawaian ( Telopea speciosissima) in the bushland.

Time of Parra'dowee

Goray'murrai-Warm and wet

This season begins with the Great Eel Spirit calling his children to him, and the eels which are ready to mate make their way down the rivers and creeks to the ocean.

It is the time of the blooming of the Kai'arrewan ( Acacia binervia) which announces the occurrence of fish in the bays and estuaries.

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The D'harawal Country and language area extends from the southern shores of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to the northern shores of the Shoalhaven River, and from the eastern shores of the Wollondilly River system to the eastern seaboard.

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Australian Aboriginal Art Education & Teacher Resources - Japingka Gallery

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Australian Aboriginal Art Education & Teacher Resources - Japingka Gallery

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My Grandmother's Lingo - Primary Languages

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My Grandmother's Lingo - Primary Languages

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My Grandmother’s Lingo: voice-activated SBS interactive tells the story of one woman’s fight to save her endangered Indigenous language

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Gambay: a map of Australia’s first languages - Primary Languages

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Gambay: a map of Australia’s first languages - Primary Languages

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First Languages Australia in partnership with local language centres across Australia have developed an interactive map to display and promote the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. The map, titled Gambay, translates to "together" in the Butchulla language of the Hervey Bay region in Queensland.

Gambay showcases over 780 languages, using data contributed by regional language centres and programs working directly with language communities around Australia.

Find out more about the map on Gambay website. Teachers' notes are also available to use with the map compiled to assist teaching about Australia's first languages across the curriculum.

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Gambay: a map of Australia's first languages - ABC Indigenous

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Welcome to ABC Indigenous - ABC's new portal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Indigenous portal replaces and upgrades the pre-existing Message Stick gateway. It was developed in consultation with the ABC's Indigenous Programs Unit and with members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

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'The Spaces Between' Unit of work - Year 7-8 Drama

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'The Spaces Between' Unit of work - Year 7-8 Drama

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Ziggy Ramo | "Little Things" feat. Paul Kelly

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Ziggy Ramo | "Little Things" feat. Paul Kelly

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Ziggy Ramo | "Little Things" feat. Paul Kelly

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This song was released in 1991 but is still very relevant today. Students can listen to the lyrics and discuss significance

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This rap song is more contemporary and yet is still expressing pride in Aboriginal culture

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Baker Boy - Marryuna (Official Video) ft. Yirrmal

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Mi-Kaisha, an ex-IGS student and Indigenous Scholar

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Listen to Brand New - Single by Mi-kaisha on Apple Music. 2021. 1 Song. Duration: 3 minutes.

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'Tell Me Why' (original)- Mi-kaisha (ex IGS student and Head Girl)

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'Tell Me Why' (original)- Mi-kaisha (ex IGS student and Head Girl)

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Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games - PDHPE and Sport

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Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games - PDHPE and Sport

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The Australian Sports Commission acknowledges Ken Edwards for the extensive and thorough research undertaken to collate the Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games.

To create this resource, Ken Edwards with the assistance of Troy Meston reviewed almost every available account of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games from all parts of Australia.

The Australian Sports Commission recognises the traditional owners of the games and activities that formed the basis of this resource. This resource is dedicated to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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Sport Australia is determined to have more Australians participating and excelling in sport, from grass-roots right up to the pinnacle of elite competition.

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Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games - PDHPE and Sport

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Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games - PDHPE and Sport

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The Australian Sports Commission acknowledges Ken Edwards for the extensive and thorough research undertaken to collate the Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games.

To create this resource, Ken Edwards with the assistance of Troy Meston reviewed almost every available account of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games from all parts of Australia.

The Australian Sports Commission recognises the traditional owners of the games and activities that formed the basis of this resource. This resource is dedicated to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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Sport Australia is determined to have more Australians participating and excelling in sport, from grass-roots right up to the pinnacle of elite competition.

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Available on ABC Iview

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The story of a nation coming together around Indigenous athlete Cathy Freeman who delivered when it mattered on the greatest stage on earth. 20 years on, Freeman sheds light on one of Australia's proudest moments.

This program was published 3 years ago.

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The story of a nation coming together around Indigenous athlete Cathy Freeman who delivered when it mattered on the greatest stage on earth. 20 years on, Freeman sheds light on one of Australia's proudest moments.

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Rob Collins and his team explore the innovative creations that enabled First Nations people to thrive, ranging from transforming volcanic terrains into fish farms to mastering the art of harnessing dangerous fire for survival.

繁體中文, 简体中文, 한국어, العربية, English, Tiếng Việt

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Rob Collins and a team of First Nations investigators delve into 65,000 years of Aboriginal Australian invention, looking at how landscapes were transformed, how events were recorded, the use of navigation tools, and how societies were organised.

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Aboriginal Astronomy- The Stories in the Stars planetarium show explores the way an Indigenous Australian culture describes constellations in the southern skies  

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Aboriginal Astronomy- The Stories in the Stars planetarium show explores the way an Indigenous Australian culture describes constellations in the southern skies  

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Australian Aboriginal Art Education & Teacher Resources - Japingka Gallery

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Australian Aboriginal Art Education & Teacher Resources - Japingka Gallery

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Ex IGS student presentation

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Find out all you need to know about Aboriginal Cultural Tours at Barangaroo.

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Yananurala is marked by sitelines, places that contain and interconnect the stories, memories and histories of this Country. These are the veins of Sydney, a living and breathing place.

-Emily McDaniel, curator

Yananurala, translated from the Gadigal language as Walking on Country, is the name of a nine-kilometre walk that highlights Aboriginal history and culture at places along the Sydney harbour foreshore.

Yananurala combines two Gadigal words, yana (walk) and nura (Country). The 'la' adds an instruction, encouraging people to go walking on Country. The phrase 'Yanala ngarala gadinurada. Yururala, yana yuramirung.' (Walk, think, listen, hear on Gadi Country. Feel it strongly, walk with us.) invites you to experience Gadigal Country through all of your senses.

Yananurala extends the Eora Journey's recognition of Aboriginal people, their history and culture across Sydney's harbour foreshore, from Pirrama (Pyrmont) to Wallamool (Woolloomooloo Bay)
Find Yananurala on Sydney Culture Walks and discover a curated series of Aboriginal stories that allow you to experience Sydney's harbour foreshore in a way that is not currently available.
Tour Operators

Sydney Rocks Dreaming Tour
Experience a local Aboriginal greeting and learn some of the language spoken. Participate in a Sydney cultural acknowledgement of Earth Mother using clap sticks. View significant cultural objects, materials and sites. Learn about the Aboriginal Dreamtime, it's origin, history and culture. Learn about the connection between contemporary Sydney and the Aboriginal Dreaming.

Tribal Warrior Cruises in Sydney Harbour, where passengers learn the traditional culture, history, and stories of one of the most beautiful harbours in the world.

Barangaroo Aboriginal Walking Tour
Learn Gadigal culture and local histories, including cultural practices and ceremony. Learn about cultural and spiritual significance of Barangaroo. Tour of Barangaroo Reserve plants and discussion of native flora and fauna.

Barangaroo Ngangamay (Self Guided)
Barangaroo Ngangamay is an app and artwork honouring ancestor, Old Lady Barangaroo. Five films that have engaged Aboriginal women across Sydney region to tell stories about their culture. Visitors are self-directed with the app - walk location to find films embedded within the landscape. Project has engaged aboriginal men to create petroglyphs / rock engraining located onsite.

Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Aboriginal Heritage Tour
Guided tours of gardens, significant plants and sites. Learn about Gadigal lifestyle, traditions, history and connection to country & community.
For further details on all nine Yananurala | Walking on Country projects, download the Harbour Walk Storytelling Report by Yananurala Curator Emily McDaniel.
Future Yananurala | Walking on Country projects include:

Sitelines installations incorporating audio that frame and explain 'sitelines' along the walk - sitelines are relationships between sites of historical and cultural significance

Conversations text based installations that respond to the intimate, hidden histories of the harbour at locations along the foreshore

Badu (water) - an environmental project led by an artist in partnership with universities and marine institutes to build on research acknowledging Country as land, water and sky

Pirrama (Pyrmont) - a public artwork next to the Australian Maritime Museum, to recognise the connection between Aboriginal people and the harbour

The Hungry Mile - a major public art and interpretation project recognising Aboriginal people's role in shaping Sydney's maritime history

Ta-ra (Dawes Point) - a major public art project that highlights the site where Patyegarang gifted the language of her people to William Dawes, recording it for future generations in his notebooks

The Boatshed - a public art project linking Aboriginal history associated with the Government Boatshed to the resilience of Aboriginal communities in Sydney

Woolloomooloo - a community-based public art project that recognises the history and enduring presence and culture of Aboriginal people.

Project partners

Yananurala is part of the Eora Journey and is being developed in partnership with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, NSW Government project partners, cultural institutions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, with guidance from the City's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel.

Get arts and culture updates from City of Sydney News.

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Discover Sydneys most popular public artworks and find out about the many permanent and temporary works that are dotted through-out our creative city. I encourage both locals and visitors to explore the wonderful City Art collection. Clover Moore, Lord Mayor

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research and reports

The La Perouse Aboriginal community is frequently requested to ' tell our story, our way ' by sharing our cultural knowledge and assets on various types of projects for corporate, cultural and educational institutions. Gujaga works with Elders, knowledge holders and leading academics to ensure all information provided is of high quality and both culturally and academically sound.

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Jump aboard our Mari Nawi vessel for one of our famous Sydney Harbour Cultural Cruises today

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Culturally Safe Classrooms - Reconciliation South Australia

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Culturally Safe Classrooms - Reconciliation South Australia

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An on-Country tour of Warrane

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The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour - Illi Langi

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This leisurely walkabout around The Rocks, on the edge of Sydney Harbour uncovers the authentic history of the Aboriginal people’s saltwater heritage within Sydney Harbour. Their land and water use and their spiritual connection to the adjoining waterways and foreshores. Aboriginal guides will demon…

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WINNER, 2020 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS, EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS SHORTLISTED, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (AGES 7-12) SHORTLISTED, 2020 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS, PATRICIA WRIGHTSON PRIZE FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE SHORTLISTED, 2020 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL AWARDS FOR LITERATURE SHORTLISTED, 2020 INDIE BOOK AWARDS, CHILDREN'S
Bruce Pascoe has collected a swathe of literary awards for Dark Emu and now he has brought together the research and compelling first person accounts in a book for younger readers. Using the accounts of early European explorers, colonists and farmers, Bruce Pascoe compellingly argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. He allows the reader to see Australia as it was before Europeans arrived - a land of cultivated farming areas, productive fisheries, permanent homes, and an understanding of the environment and its natural resources that supported thriving villages across the continent. Young Dark Emu - A Truer History asks young readers to consider a different version of Australia's history pre-European colonisation.

Praise for Young Dark Emu

"...this book should be required reading for all - it is a gift of knowledge we should all be grateful for."
- Australian Geographic Explorers

"This elegant, accessible and beguilingly informative book should be required reading."
- Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser

"Stunningly presented in striking shades of ochre, orange, black and white, this seminal book invites young readers to contemplate a different picture of Aboriginal culture and the concept of terra nullius."
- Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder, The Canberra Times

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WINNER, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION KIDS' READING GUIDE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER, 2020 CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS, EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS SHORTLISTED, 2020 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (AGES 7-12) SHORTLISTED, 2020 NSW PREMIER'S

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Listener discretion is advised as this program contains mentions of sexual violence.

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Richard Fidler, Charlie King, Carmel Rooney, Nicola Harrison

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Charlie King — my mother Ningardi’s story - ABC listen

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Gurindji man and ABC presenter Charlie knew a little about his mum’s life as he grew up. But after her death, he began to reckon with what she’d lived through as a child (CW: contains mention of ATSI people who have died; mentions of sexual violence)

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'Living on Stolen Land' - English Years 8-10

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'Living on Stolen Land' - English Years 8-10

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"Living on Stolen Land looks warm and inviting but in reality, packs a major punch."
- Rachael Knowels, National Indigenous Times

"Kwaymullina's work is part of a growing and flourishing body of Indigenous authored literature by poets such as Natalie Harkin, Charmaine Papertalk Green, Ellen van Neerven and Alison Whittaker, whose works are a radical, timely and continuing counter-intervention..."
- Jeanine Leane, Sydney Review of Books

"If you want to know how to be a good ally to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Living on Stolen Land, is the perfect primer."
- Marjorie Lewis-Jones, The South Sydney Herald

"...a punch to the gut that white Australia so desperately needs."
- Chloë Cooper, Kill Your Darlings

"With grace, precision and conviction - Ambelin takes readers back to the first principles of decolonisation on this continent. ' Living on Stolen Land' is both a loving, brilliant monument to these principles and a guide. Her work is perfect for those non-Indigenous people just beginning to think about living on stolen lands and a reminder for those who have thought about it for a while. For those of us who live these principles as First Nations people, well, these poems are like listening to an echo that's travelled a long time. There's not a single person who doesn't stand to gain something from this book."
- Alison Whittaker

"I believe this one of the most important statements on restoration to the dispossessed, on how all of us might go about the essential processes of decolonisation with sensitivity and awareness, that has ever been articulated."
- John Kinsella

"This book is a poetic and musical manifesto about the current state of affairs in this country...an unapologetic exercise in truth telling that forces you to confront yourself. It contains powerful instructions about the action and doing-work that is now required."
- @blackfulla_bookclub

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SHORTLISTED, 2021 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, SMALL PUBLISHERS' ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR Living on Stolen Land is a prose-styled look at our colonial-settler 'present'. This book is the first of its kind to address and educate a broad audience about the colonial contextual history of Australia, in a highly original way.

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Biomes and Food Security Unit of Work - Year 9 Geography/Science

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Biomes and Food Security Unit of Work - Year 9 Geography/Science

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'Making a Nation' Unit of Work - Year 9 History

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'Making a Nation' Unit of Work - Year 9 History

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My Grandmother’s Lingo: voice-activated SBS interactive tells the story of one woman’s fight to save her endangered Indigenous language

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Talking Language with Ernie Dingo is a personal journey providing a unique understanding of how knowledge of Aboriginal languages is shaped by ancestral connections to the land, stars, water and sea.

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Follows the Indigenous officers and cadets who are trying to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration and repair the damage between Aboriginal people and the police.

First Nations cadets and police officers across the country set out to try to create a law that is fair for everyone.

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Follows the Indigenous officers and cadets who are trying to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration and repair the damage between Aboriginal people and the police.

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Gambay: a map of Australia’s first languages - ABC Indigenous

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Welcome to ABC Indigenous - ABC’s new portal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Indigenous portal replaces and upgrades the pre-existing Message Stick gateway. It was developed in consultation with the ABC’s Indigenous Programs Unit and with members of the Aboriginal and Torres St…

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Common Ground works with teachers to develop comprehensive educational resources to accompany the films. The resources will help you guide safe and informative learning with the young people in your life, whether you're a parent, an Early Childhood educator or a Primary School teacher.

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Common Ground works with teachers to develop comprehensive educational resources to accompany the films. The resources will help you guide safe and informative learning with the young people in your life, whether you're a parent, an Early Childhood educator or a Primary School teacher.

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Languages- example of the strength of revitalisation

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Languages- example of the strength of revitalisation

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For Language ambassador and artist Barkaa, learning the Language of her ancestors is powerful and healing. Watch as Barkaa journeys back to Barkindji Country...

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Colonial Frontier Massacres, Australia, 1780 to 1930, v3

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Great for all areas

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Aboriginal Australians were multicultural long before European settlers came to Australia. Traditionally, there were more than 500 different Aboriginal Nations across Australia with different languages, social structures and modes of behaviour, but also with many common denominators - specifically religious ties and Kinship systems.

This module will help you to gain a better understanding of:

Aboriginal Kinship systems and how they operate

Aboriginal social structures and how these are different to Western societies

potential conflict in working with people from differing cultural backgrounds

how cultural difference impacts upon Aboriginal people in the social systems which operate in Australia (through education, criminal justice systems and the legal system more broadly, etc.).

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This online module explores systems of social organisation that traditionally govern Aboriginal societies and how cultural differences impact Aboriginal people in Australia.

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‘It is not a surface thing’: Why we spell Country with a capital C

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Do you know what Country is or what it means to care for it? Ever heard of Songlines? Margo Ngawa Neale, senior Indigenous art and history curator at the National Museum of Australia, is here to help.

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The 50 words project aims to provide fifty words in every Indigenous language of Australia. We hope that this will be a useful resource for schools and educational organisations to learn 50 words in their local languages, and for the general public to discover the diversity of languages around Australia.

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The 50 words project aims to provide fifty words in every Indigenous language of Australia. We hope that this will be a useful resource for schools and educational organisations to learn 50 words in their local languages, and for the general public to discover the diversity of languages around Australia.

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Through Our Eyes -  Dhinawan 'Emu' In The Sky with Ben Flick

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David Marr confronts his family’s history - podcast

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The journalist speaks to Jane Lee about how he discovered his ancestors’ role in Australia’s frontier wars

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Acknowledging the oldest teachers on Earth

This unit is designed to bring a contemporary understanding of First Nations Peoples and their scientific knowledge into lessons for teachers of Year 10 Science. We hope these lessons will allow teachers to confidently tackle curriculum areas addressing First Nations understandings and perspectives as they appear in V9 of the ACARA curriculum.

The First Nations Peoples of Australia are the longest-surviving continuous culture on the planet, having been present in Australia (as it is now known) for at least 60,000 years. Indigenous Australians can also claim to be the oldest and most successful teachers on Earth through the cultures, traditions and knowledge passed from generation to generation.

For many non-Indigenous teachers, it can be daunting to teach any content relating to the long and deep history of Indigenous Australians through our limited knowledge and understanding of the many and varied practices of the hundreds of peoples from across the continent and through not wanting to make statements that are at best incorrect and at worst disrespectful or hurtful.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that these lessons may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Mapped to the Year 10 Science curriculum

Each lesson focuses on a specific content descriptor and associated elaborations relating to First Nations Australians, as shown below.

Biological sciences Students learn to explain the role of meiosis and mitosis and the function of chromosomes, DNA and genes in heredity and predict patterns of Mendelian inheritance (AC9S10U01) - investigating First Nations Australians' knowledges of heredity as evidenced by the strict adherence to kinship and family structures, especially marriage laws

Earth and space sciences Students learn to describe how the big bang theory models the origin and evolution of the universe and analyse the supporting evidence for the theory (AC9S10U03) - researching First Nations Australians' knowledges of celestial bodies and explanations of the origin of the universe

Physical Sciences Students learn to investigate Newton's laws of motion and quantitatively analyse the relationship between force, mass and acceleration of objects (AC9S10U05) - investigating how First Nations Australians achieve an increase in speed and subsequent impact force through the use of spearthrowers and bows

Chemical sciences Students learn to identify patterns in synthesis, decomposition and displacement reactions and investigate the factors that affect reaction rates (AC9S10U07) - investigating chemical reactions employed by First Nations Australians in the production of substances such as acids and ethanol

Use and influence of science Students learn to analyse the key factors that contribute to science knowledge and practices being adopted more broadly by society (AC9S10H03) - considering how the traditional ecological knowledges of First Nations Australians are being reaffirmed by modern science and how these practices are being used by Traditional Owners in carbon farming initiatives

Students learn to examine how the values and needs of society influence the focus of scientific research (AC9S10H04) - researching how the values of 19th and early 20th century Australian society, combined with scientific misconceptions about heredity and evolution, influenced policies and attitudes towards First Nations Australians

Cool has partnered with a respected academic with years of experience working with First Nations groups across Australia, Dr Tim Patston.

Using these lessons

These lessons within the First Nations Science Unit have been created to show how First Nations History, Culture and Knowledge overlap with the Australian Science Curriculum and how this knowledge contributes to our modern understanding of Science as well as recognising and respecting the knowledge and history of First Nations Australians. This unit is not designed to be a comprehensive overview of First Nations History, Cultural Practices and knowledge, and are instead snapshots into thousands of years of accumulated knowledge within what can be complex topics. Before teaching any of these lessons, it is essential to note that the contents of each lesson are not necessarily a representation of the knowledges and practices of all of the hundreds of Indigenous groups across Australia; that's like asking a French person to speak on behalf of Italians because they're both from Europe! Instead, what you will find in these lessons are illustrations of the practices of the specific Indigenous Peoples named in the lesson. With this in mind, Cool highly recommends reaching out to the Elders of your local area to seek their knowledge of the topic or, better yet, invite them to speak to your class! For more information on contacting your local community, click here.

The lessons are intended to be used as you progress through the Year 10 Science curriculum. They are standalone lessons designed to complement the teaching of the theory taught within each of the Science Understanding sub-strands. For example, after teaching students about genetics and inheritance, the lesson discussing First Nations knowledge of heredity can be used to illustrate some of the practices employed by Indigenous Australians.

Alternatively, the lessons could be taught as a complete sequence of lessons. At Cool, we suggest the lessons be used when contextually relevant to the sub-strand being taught so that students are exposed to First Nations knowledges throughout the year.

Produced in collaboration with experts

Dr Tim Patston is the leader of Creative Actions consultancy activities. He is co-author with an Indigenous Elder of an educational resource focusing on Indigenous Astronomy.

In addition to his work with schools to develop creativity within students and as an author of Creative Actions, Tim and his family have a long connection with collaborating with First Nations groups to bring illustrations of their understandings to life through Indigenous Astronomy. The Starwheel is an immersive experience for teachers and students, combining the authenticity of First Peoples' voice with Non-Indigenous science. The Starwheel brings an ancient perspective of the night sky to modern observers, shining a light on the complexity and depth of Indigenous observation, science and creativity.

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This unit is designed to bring a contemporary understanding of First Nations Peoples and their scientific knowledge into lessons for teachers of Year 10 Science. We hope these lessons will allow teachers to confidently tackle curriculum areas addressing First Nations understandings and perspectives as they appear in V9 of the ACARA curriculum.

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First Nations people please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death of First Nations people.
A pillar of the Uluru Statement from the Heart is truth-telling. This is easy to say, but not easy to do. Truth-telling involves the practice of revealing things that are uncomfortable, long hidden or forgotten. Truth-telling practices across the country (and globally, such as in Canada) are bringing attention to histories and societal inequities that are often contentious and difficult to hear.

The Native Mounted Police is one such difficult story in Queensland's truth-telling process.

The Native Mounted Police operated in Queensland for 80 years, starting in 1849. It consisted of small groups of between six and 15 Aboriginal troopers under the command of white officers. The troopers were typically recruited from areas far from where they were sent to serve.

Detachments of troopers were regularly sent out on patrol, covering large areas along the frontier of the colony in pursuit of Indigenous people who were considered to be "problematic". Their main job was to protect civilian settlers, the lands they had taken up, and their livelihoods - by whatever means necessary.

While on patrol, the Native Mounted Police are known to have engaged in violence against Aboriginal people, including killings of men, women and children, kidnappings, rape, and the forcible removal of children.

Truth-telling will mean coming to terms with this violence. Their actions radically altered the makeup of First Nations groups, diminished their populations, and changed where and how survivors could live.

With respect to this history, renowned Badtjala artist and scholar Dr Fiona Foley has said

I believe this country carries deep wounds from the trauma of these frontier wars. We carry it inside our souls whether we are conscious of them or not.

What we've found in our research

For seven years, we have been reconstructing the activities of the Native Mounted Police in order to help Queenslanders begin to understand this history.

In our research, we combed through archaeological work on Native Mounted Police camps and artefacts, examined historical documents (newspapers, colonial government documents, private diaries, hospital records and maps) from public archives and libraries, and conducted oral histories with a range of people, including descendants of Native Mounted Police officers and troopers, and descendants of massacre survivors.

We have organised all of our findings - nearly 20,000 documents in total - in an online database to shed light on the lives of the 450 officers and over 1,000 Aboriginal troopers who made up the Native Mounted Police, and the violence they administered.

Some people question why Aboriginal boys and men would enlist in a force whose job was to hunt down and kill other Aboriginal people. As we discuss at length in a research article, the reasons are varied and many. Some were directly or indirectly coerced through threats of violence or reduced prison sentences, but many seemingly "volunteered". Many recruits may have had few, if any, other viable options - in essence, they were faced with a "choiceless choice".

Like other native policing forces used by the British in Africa and India, the Queensland Native Mounted Police also deliberately exploited the fact that Indigenous people from one part of the country often regarded those from another as strangers, if not enemies.

The extent of frontier conflict

Other researchers have mapped massacre events in Australia in which more than six people were killed. Not all frontier conflict resulted in the deaths of large numbers of people, however. Large massacres were typically preceded by a series of smaller events and followed by others afterwards. These often included attacks on livestock or property rather than people, or the killings of individual people on both sides.

Our aim was to reconstruct as comprehensively as possible the scale and nature of all frontier conflict events, including violence that took place before the Native Mounted Police were officially established. All of this conflict would have set the scene for Indigenous people in their subsequent interactions with settler-colonists.

We divided conflict into four categories: attacks on stock or property, attacks on non-Indigenous people, attacks on Indigenous people and attacks on the Native Mounted Police themselves.

All together, we mapped more than 2,500 of these conflict events across colonial Queensland from 1623 until 1911. Our findings show violence occurred everywhere, but was especially common along the east coast and on Cape York Peninsula.

Violence commenced in Queensland in 1623, with the voyage of the Dutch vessel Pera, captained by Janszoon Carstensz. After settler colonists arrived in the early 1800s, we found violent incidents taking place in every decade from the 1820s onwards, peaking in 1866.

Because historical documents are biased in their focus on violence towards settlers, the most common form of conflict recorded was the killing of livestock, such as sheep, cattle and horses.

Pastoralists, agriculturalists, farmers and selectors had often invested their life savings in buying livestock and taking up land. They could little afford to lose their animals to Aboriginal spears. When they did, they often called in the Native Mounted Police, whose presence began a series of retaliatory events.

Read more: Friday essay: 'killed by Natives'. The stories - and violent reprisals - behind some of Australia's settler memorials

Potentially higher death rates from conflict

Of the 165 Native Mount Police camps we have identified in our research, 150 have relatively secure beginning and end dates, with an average duration of 13 years per camp. This suggests that, generally, it took just over a decade to curb Aboriginal resistance in any given region.

In some areas, though, it took much longer. In the Cook Pastoral District (which covers most of Cape York Peninsula), for example, a staggering 54 Native Mounted Police camps operated from 1868 until 1929.

When the areal extent of different historic pastoral districts is taken into account, however, some had an even greater density of Native Mounted Police camps than Cook. Even though the Wide Bay District in southeast Queensland had only six camps between 1850 and 1864, its small size meant the Native Mounted Police presence here was quite intense.

Our data also suggests the death rates of frontier Aboriginal peoples was considerably higher than previous estimates.

Historians Raymond Evans and Robert Ørsted-Jensen have estimated some 41,000 Aboriginal people could have been killed at the hands of the Native Mounted Police between 1859 and 1897. Their estimate was based on reasonable and minimal assumptions drawn from historical documents and an average seven-year lifespan per camp.

Extending the duration of a camp to 13 years, in line with our newly identified data, increases the total deaths to potentially over 60,000.

Read more: 'Why didn't we know?' is no excuse. Non-Indigenous Australians must listen to the difficult historical truths told by First Nations people

Ripples in Australia today

The government policies that allowed this decimation of Indigenous lives continue to have very real implications in Australian society today.

Australia's colonial history has been built on policies designed to secure and maintain possession of Indigenous lands. Historically, colonial powers employed forces like the Native Mounted Police to enact widespread violence on the Indigenous people who stood in the way of this.

We can see the repercussions of historical actions to displace Aboriginal communities in processes such as native title claims. These processes force Aboriginal people to prove generational connections to land from which they were, at best, marginalised, and at worst, excluded.

Many Aboriginal groups can trace their families back to only a handful of ancestors because so many people were killed outright, died from starvation and disease, or were removed through measures such as the Stolen Generations.

The resounding defeat of the recent Voice to Parliament referendum is another case in point. It reveals a lack of understanding of the historical nature of violence against Indigenous people, the racist foundations of settler Australia, and how these continue to impact communities today.

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Our mapping project shows how extensive frontier violence was in Queensland. This is why truth-telling matters

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Frontier violence was widespread across colonial Queensland and has real life implications for contemporary Australia.

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Today on the show, Author and founder of AIME (the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) Jack Manning Bancroft.
Published on the day of the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Jack's piece is a statement on the continuing power of Indigenous knowledge systems, despite the long shadow of a failed referendum outcome.
Jack will read his story, 'The Indigenous Knowledges Systems Lab'..

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: Founder of AIME, Jack Manning Bancroft

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jack manning bancroft on indigenous knowledge systems

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‎The Weekend Read: Jack Manning Bancroft on Indigenous knowledge systems on Apple Podcasts

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Today on the show, Author and founder of AIME (the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) Jack Manning Bancroft. Published on the day of the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Jack's piece is a statement on the continuing power of Indigenous knowledge systems, despite the long sh...

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The story behind one of the best songs of all time.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this article may contain the images, voices and words of people who have passed away.
Yothu Yindi were one of the first bands to bring the music, the stories and the issues of Indigenous Australia to the world with their energetic and beautiful music.

For all the amazing songs they produced in their two decades as a band, one has a legacy that is unrivalled by any other song in Australian history.

'Treaty' was released in 1991 and it remains as exciting, powerful and thought provoking as ever. Written by Yothu Yindi and Paul Kelly, the song catapulted the band to new commercial heights both here and overseas.

In doing so, it brought Australian Indigenous issues to thousands of people who'd never been aware of them before.

Here is the story of 'Treaty'. One of the best Australian songs of all time.

The writing of 'Treaty'

'Treaty' wasn't written quickly. It took multiple writing sessions in different parts of the country before it was complete.

It all started on June 12, 1988. Then Prime Minister, the late Bob Hawke, was presented with the Barunga Statement; two paintings and a petition calling for Indigenous rights.

In response, Hawke promised to negotiate a treaty between the Australian government and the Aboriginal people, on behalf of all Australians. And he said it would come soon.

"The Government hopes that these negotiations can commence before the end of 1988 and will lead to an agreed treaty in the life of this Parliament," his response said.

The treaty never came, but Yothu Yindi frontman and Yolngu man Dr Yunupingu didn't want Australia to forget about the promise. When his friend and collaborator Paul Kelly came to visit, Dr Yunupingu told him his plan.

"Prime Minister Bob Hawke visited Northern Territory in '88 and he said there shall be some treaty between black and white Australia. That struck me," Dr Yunupingu told triple j's Richard Kingsmill in 1997.

"The following year, everything seemed to have died down. So, when Paul Kelly visited me we talked about this issue.

"I said, 'I want to write a song that is centred on treaty'. So, we started playing around with some lyrics. My lyrics at that time were that I'd heard it on the radio and I saw it on the television, but where is it? Where is the treaty?"
Listen to the Treaty J Files with Daniel Browning above
"In 1991, Dr Yunupingu invited me up to Arnhem Land to work on some songs for their second record," Kelly told Double J in 2016. "When I arrived, he said 'I want to write a song about the treaty'.

"We started around one of the campfires around Birany Birany, south of Yirrkala, where he lived. We got pretty stuck for a while. I'm not really someone who writes from the top up, or from a theme down. So, we struggled."

The song was started, but far from finished. The next step in the process took place around 1,000km west of Yothu Yindi's homeland.

"We went to Darwin to rehearse with the rest of Yothu Yindi, who were working on other songs for their record," Kelly recalled. "We were there for a week.

"We were jamming on the last day, the band was jamming on a groove. We only had one verse that we'd written for 'Treaty' and they started singing those lines over the top.

"For want of nothing better to do, we sang ' Treaty yeah, Treaty now' over the top of the groove. We thought 'Maybe there's something there?' and recorded it on a little beatbox in the middle of the room."

The songs for their second album were in pretty good shape and Kelly thought his involvement in the album was over. The band travelled to Melbourne to make the record with producer Mark Moffatt. Kelly received another call.

"Their manager AJ - Alan James - rings up and says, 'They've recorded the song 'Treaty'' and I said 'Oh, really? I didn't think it was finished yet'.

"He said, 'The record company are pretty keen to put it out. But no one can really hear the words properly'. I said, 'That's probably because we haven't finished the words, he's probably just mumbling a melody'."

Kelly and Dr Yunupingu reconvened in Sydney to finish the song, before visiting a mutual friend to get his thoughts on what they had.

"We walked around the corner to the Midnight Oil office and played what we had to Peter [Garrett]," Kelly says. "He suggested some arrangement things, some good ideas. They recorded it the next day with Peter in the studio."

"I can't say I did a great deal," Garrett told Double J. "Other than making a few suggestions about bridges and lines that might work, going into the studio with Dr Yunupingu and singing it through with him. Just as a way of sharing a bit of that recording journey."

The impact of 'Treaty'

The original version of 'Treaty' was released as the first single from Yothu Yindi's second album Tribal Voice in 1991.

"I think it was an incredible step. Really momentous in the sense that no one had addressed the issue through popular culture in that way," Garrett said.

"We hadn't heard this call coming from Aboriginal voices, particularly with language.

"And we never had experienced that call broadcast to such a wide audience once 'Treaty' became played a lot on radio."

But it wasn't that original version that became such a hit. The most well-known version of 'Treaty' and the one that spread to radio, TV and nightclubs around the world is a remix.

Filthy Lucre was a DJ group made up of Gavin Campbell, Paul Main and Robert Goodge (Essendon Airport, I'm Talking).

The project didn't last all that long, but their reworking of 'Treaty' is without doubt the most significant remix in Australian history.

"They pretty much stripped the verse words away and just kept the chorus, added some samples and put another beat behind it," Kelly said. "It was great.

"That was the song that went up the charts and was played in clubs all over the place. I remember, everywhere you went in those days that song was playing and people would jump on the dancefloor as soon as it came on."

Listen to both versions of the song and the differences are clear. But Tribal Voice producer Mark Moffatt gives some inside information about one less obvious difference between the two.

"One of the background vocalists is Tim Finn," Moffatt told Double J. "On the remixed version they featured his track quite heavily, I've noticed."

The song's popularity cannot be overstated. It spent 22 weeks in the ARIA charts, peaking at number 11.

In the US, it made it to number six on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play singles charts. The band won five ARIA awards in 1992.

'Treaty' was one of, if not the most played song on triple j in the 1990s.

The song was inescapable.

Moffatt recalls the distinct moment he realised how big 'Treaty' had become.

"We were sitting at Tullamarine airport one day, 'Treaty' was out, and a bunch of white school kids came up and asked the band for their autograph," he says.

"I thought 'Well, something special is happening here'."

The song's success was so significant because of who was singing it, just as much as the subject matter.

"It was released at a time where the Mabo case was in the High Court. It highlighted the whole Indigenous movement," Kev Carmody told Double J.

"It was one of the first commercial songs in about 20 years that had Indigenous input into it. We have Jimmy Little in the '60s and Lionel Rose, and then you have 'Treaty', it was a real high point and a pinnacle from an indigenous point of view in music."

"I think they were the first Indigenous band who had a hit song sung in their own language played all around the world," Paul Kelly says.

"It charted in lot of different places. Around that time, they were touring a lot. In lots of different countries.

"The philosophy of that band, as driven by Dr Yunupingu, was that they wanted to maintain their culture by showing their culture. This is what they very successfully did. Songs like 'Treaty' were a very important part of that."

The legacy of 'Treaty'

"As time has gone on, there are two things people want to know about," producer Mark Moffatt told Double J about his career legacy. "One is 'Treaty' and one is 'I'm Stranded' by The Saints. They're the two records people ask about."

'Treaty' remains one of our country's most popular and well recognised songs. It's inspirational, influential and, musically, it holds up as a first-class song.

There is still no treaty, almost 30 years on. But, as Dr Yunupingu said back in 1997, as long as the song is around, the issue will not be forgotten.

"I think a treaty is still strong in people's minds. And I think it will always be a reminding song for people. It will always be a reminder for people. When I wrote that song I wanted it to be a kind reminder. Not a down your throat, in your face kind of thing.

"I think a treaty is going to be part of what reconciliation is, which is part of the republic state of Australia. I think the whole issue of republic and reconciliation will form what we call a treaty. Maybe."

We asked Australian musicians what 'Treaty' has meant to them through their life and what it means to them now.

Kev Carmody

The legacy of it is still an ongoing progression. We're still looking at this concept of a treaty and the recognition in the constitution of our custodianship of this country for 50,000 years.

Emma Donovan

To me 'Treaty' is a representation of so many things. Our traditional songs, our dance, our music, the things that keep us strong, our practices today even in everyday life.

We're still wanting to be recognised as land owners. We still have petitions and statements and campaigns. Songs like 'Treaty' gave our people a voice, saying we're still here, we still want to be recognised and we're still waiting for that treaty.

Leah Flanagan

I feel like 'Treaty' is as relevant today as it was when it was first released in 1991. The song gave Aboriginal people, those in urban Australia and those still living on country a voice. A voice to raise awareness of the main issue that still exists in Australia.

The fact that aboriginal people are still not recognised as the first people of this land. Until there is an agreement, or a treaty, to state this fact, until the white colonial history books have been amended, Aboriginal people continue to be victims in a society that has consistently devalued and excluded them.

Peter Garrett

I think the legacy of the song is that it's still unfinished business for Australia. We talk about reconciliation and that's got lots of different elements.

One of those elements, I think, is constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Islander people.

Another element, which for me is almost the next and most important step, is some form of settlement, acknowledgement, compact or call it treaty, that puts right the great wrong in modern Australian history.

The song is still as resonant, as meaningful and as important and as urgent to act on as it was the day that it was performed and broadcast around the country.

We were close mates. Yothu Yindi and Midnight Oil played together. I spent a lot of time in Arnhem Land through different parts of my working life, both as a pollie and also as a musician.

I can still hear the voices calling out. Hearing them hits me as loud and as clear and as strong as it did when I first heard it. Yet I think the need for us to reinvigorate and get on that path has never been more important as well.

Paul Kelly

Of course there's still not a treaty. But that's a very complex thing to make happen. Because there were 200 nations here when the settlers first arrived. It's not that simple just to make a treaty.

But the legacy lives on. It's now there in the push for recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution. Those battles and negotiations are going on today.

Robbie Miller

I feel it has significance on the political landscape of Australia as well as the indigenous landscape. As most people know, the song was about a promise from the Hawke government for a treaty by the year 1990, something that never materialised. Unfortunately, no government following has been able to make good on that promise of a treaty.

But I'm really hopeful that one side, or both sides, will stand up and will take on this topic of a treaty, or some form of agreement. It fills me with a lot of hope.

I think, if we work as a whole of Australia, we can construct something that will have a long-lasting and positive impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, but it will be for the betterment of the whole of Australia.

Mark Moffatt

It's one of those songs that's gonna be around for a long time because of what it stood for.

The legacy that the Yunupingu family had has quite a lot to do with how the song came about. They had a great history of activism in the Northern Territory, it wasn't just that song, there'd been a lot of stuff going on in that family for many years and suddenly that broke through.

It was the culmination of a long 10 or 20 years of them trying to get stuff going on, particularly around land rights and mine rights.

Luke Daniel Peacock

I think many people my age, black or white, have memories of running around the living room on a Saturday morning, listening to Rage and listening to 'Treaty'. Trying to shake a leg or do the kangaroo.

It was an incredible thing at that time for a song with such a strong message on a pretty unpopular topic to be broadcast nationwide in mainstream media and get such huge airplay.

It was the first song I knew of that was addressing those topics and even addressing Indigenous culture at that level. It's a shame, over 25 years on from the song that says ' Treaty now', that we're still so far from that.

That's what's got to happen to finally put an end to this constant battle between black and white Australia. It's the only viable outcome and it's something Indigenous First Nation Australians are always gonna fight for, no matter how long it takes. Hopefully one day we'll finally have that treaty.

Benny Walker

It was not only one of the first songs that came to my consciousness as a protest song. It was also the first time I'd seen Aboriginal musicians on mainstream TV and in the charts.

Even at such a young age it gave me a real sense of pride in my heritage and excited me about the prospect of our people being at the top of their game not only here but internationally.

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The writing, the impact, and the legacy of Yothu Yindi's 'Treaty' - Double J

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The story behind one of the best songs of all time.

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From 1788 Aboriginal people had their land and many of their human rights taken away from them by British colonists. By the end of the 1800s, when the colonies were federating, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were excluded from almost all aspects of white society.

The creators of the Australian Constitution paid little attention to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Constitution contained only two important references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Section 51 meant that the Australian Government had no power to make laws that specifically applied to Aboriginal people. Section 127 excluded Aboriginal people from being counted in the census.

After Federation the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 specifically excluded most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from voting.

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Indigenous referendum | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom | National Museum of Australia

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In May 1967, after 10 years of campaigning, a referendum on the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution was held. The vote focused public attention on the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were treated as second-class citizens.

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When Monica Wallabindi's mother was just two years old, she was stolen from her family's shanty on the outskirts of Geraldton, Western Australia.

She was one of 10 children, and her family was living in a tin humpy with a dirt floor and no running water.

But despite the challenges her family faced, the siblings enjoyed spending time together, making and playing with dolls.

Using what they had available to them, the dolls were often made from old glass or beer bottles and wrapped in used flour bags or old rags.

On November 4, 1959, the children were forcibly removed from their home and their beloved makeshift toys were discarded without a second thought.

Ms Wallabindi is a proud Wadandi Bibbulmun Noongar woman from Perth and has lived in Canberra for the past 20 years.

She is a singer who uses her platform to share her family's stories.

Recently, she wrote the song Beer Bottle Baby, drawing inspiration from an old government report given to Ms Wallabindi by an Aunty.

"The government report documented the removal of my mother and her siblings and talked about that whole process," she said.

"To see that part of my family history written in black and white in a government document, and just people that I love being talked about in such a clinical manner, really moved me."

The document detailed how the 10 children had been separated and sent to different parts of the country.

It also mentioned that their precious toys had been thrown in the bin.

Ms Wallabindi reflected on her experience learning about her family's history, and said she had since felt more compelled to share the stories and engage in conversations with others.

"It's not about making anyone feel personally guilty or responsible, or putting blame on people who are here now," she said.

"It's just about learning about our past, our collective past here in Australia. To know that, I think, is a responsibility of every Australian."

What is National Sorry Day?

Australia marks National Sorry Day on May 26 each year, remembering and acknowledging the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed as children from their families and communities, otherwise known as the Stolen Generations.

Children were taken because of official laws and government policies at the time, which aimed to assimilate the Indigenous population into the non-Indigenous community.

The children were renamed, forced to stop speaking their native language, and were told their parents no longer wanted them.

The policies were in effect right up until the 1970s, and many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still searching for lost parents and siblings today.

The first National Sorry Day was held 25 years ago, commemorating one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in federal parliament.

The report found the forced removal of Indigenous children had caused lifelong impacts on Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

Ten years later, in February 2008, then-prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; saying sorry to the Stolen Generations.

Ms Wallabindi said she remembered speaking to her mother on the day of the national apology.

"She was just so happy that it had happened," she said.

"It didn't change what had happened to her, but it meant that there was this nationwide acknowledgement that it had happened.

"It acknowledged the pain and trauma of a lot of people."

'Why should I apologise?'

But Ms Wallabindi said, around this time of year, Indigenous Australians can be subject to comments and abuse from the broader community.

She said she had heard many people questioning why they should be apologising, asking: "Why should I apologise? I didn't have anything to do with it, my ancestors didn't have anything to do with it", or: "It was such a long time ago, why are we apologising?"

"It's about acknowledging that it happened," Ms Wallabindi said.

"Whether or not your ancestors played a part in that is irrelevant."

Former rugby league star and proud Wiradjuri woman Katrina Fanning said National Sorry Day was about having empathy.

"Where there's parts of our history where there's tragedy, where there's struggle, I feel emotions for those people," she said.

Ms Fanning said providing support to others should not be limited to people you had personally wronged.

"I haven't caused a drought, I never fought in a war, but I have empathy for the situation that fellow Australians went through and the sacrifices they made to make this country a better place."

Ms Fanning said she felt a sense of sadness for those who did not acknowledge the Stolen Generations or want to say sorry, as they weren't able to understand the shared history of Australia.

"They don't understand that this whole community of people exemplify what it is to be Australian, with resilience and toughness and dignity and pride," she said.

"I feel like they're missing out on the fabric of Australia, not the other way around."

Ms Fanning said her family had been subject to similar comments about not wanting to apologise, but they tended not to react.

"They lived at a time where reacting would have them arrested, have them banned from town, have them banned from school," she said.

"I see a simmer in them. I see something that they've had to carry, and a burden that they've had to shoulder for a very long time."

Having the conversation

Maurice Walker was originally from Woorabinda in Queensland, and now invests his time back into the Indigenous community in Canberra.

He said his parents and ancestors were removed from their homelands before they settled in Queensland.

Mr Walker said marking National Sorry Day was important because it acknowledged the trauma and loss that was created through government policies.

"It creates a sense that the government acknowledges the wrong they did," he said.

But Mr Walker said it was important for Australians to have open conversations and allow people to ask questions, rather than allowing a continued spread of hearsay or myths.

Mr Walker recalled a time when he had been working as a crowd controller at a bar, and had overheard a group of people discussing Indigenous people losing their culture and their language.

"I pulled them up and said, 'That's an interesting conversation, where did you hear that?'"

"I think sometimes it comes down to people not taking the time to understand why Aboriginal people are acting the way they do."

'There are things that happened in our past that are unforgettable'

Ms Wallabindi agreed that learning about and educating others on significant events of the past, like the Stolen Generations, was important to address misconceptions or negative perceptions about National Sorry Day.

"I can't reconcile how you could live on this land, this land that's been looked after for tens of thousands of years, and not at least do your duty to learn about our shared history," Ms Wallabindi said.

Ms Fanning said one of the best ways to move forward was through education and truth-telling.

"I guess that for most Australians, until our most recent history, our school curriculums, our education systems, even our social norms and what's OK to talk about, have really blunted the ability for us all to learn more about what happened in our past, the impacts that has," she said.

Mr Walker said he understood that people of today's society were not involved in the actions of the past, but learning about the past was still an important step.

"There are things that happened in our past that are unforgettable, and our ancestors, our parents, our grandparents actually lived through that trauma, and that's what's been passed down to us as children," he said.

'Whole new level of negotiation' needed for Voice to Parliament

As a country, Australia will soon have to vote on whether an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should be enshrined in the constitution.

But Mr Walker said it was important to address how the Voice would work differently than other structures in the past, to ensure its success.

"There's a whole new level of negotiation that needs to take place before people are convinced that this structure is going to do anything different," he said.

Ms Fanning said she hoped the referendum would help bring an Indigenous voice to the table.

She said in the past, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had not had the chance to select a representative at the highest level of influence who represented the community on issues affecting them.

"By embedding something that doesn't just change at the whim of the government or an election cycle, but is guaranteed, will help us to tackle long-term issues that can't be addressed in just one election or funding cycle," she said.

"To be perfectly honest, to keep doing things the way we've done for a couple hundred years and expecting a different result is not good enough."

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Today is National Sorry Day, but many Indigenous Australians say they're still asked: 'Why should I apologise?'

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At just two years old, Monica Wallabindi's mother was stolen from her family. She says National Sorry Day isn't about making anyone feel personally guilty or responsible, but acknowledging Australia's past.

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When Monica Wallabindi's mother was just two years old, she was stolen from her family's shanty on the outskirts of Geraldton, Western Australia.

She was one of 10 children, and her family was living in a tin humpy with a dirt floor and no running water.

But despite the challenges her family faced, the siblings enjoyed spending time together, making and playing with dolls.

Using what they had available to them, the dolls were often made from old glass or beer bottles and wrapped in used flour bags or old rags.

On November 4, 1959, the children were forcibly removed from their home and their beloved makeshift toys were discarded without a second thought.

Ms Wallabindi is a proud Wadandi Bibbulmun Noongar woman from Perth and has lived in Canberra for the past 20 years.

She is a singer who uses her platform to share her family's stories.

Recently, she wrote the song Beer Bottle Baby, drawing inspiration from an old government report given to Ms Wallabindi by an Aunty.

"The government report documented the removal of my mother and her siblings and talked about that whole process," she said.

"To see that part of my family history written in black and white in a government document, and just people that I love being talked about in such a clinical manner, really moved me."

The document detailed how the 10 children had been separated and sent to different parts of the country.

It also mentioned that their precious toys had been thrown in the bin.

Ms Wallabindi reflected on her experience learning about her family's history, and said she had since felt more compelled to share the stories and engage in conversations with others.

"It's not about making anyone feel personally guilty or responsible, or putting blame on people who are here now," she said.

"It's just about learning about our past, our collective past here in Australia. To know that, I think, is a responsibility of every Australian."

What is National Sorry Day?

Australia marks National Sorry Day on May 26 each year, remembering and acknowledging the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed as children from their families and communities, otherwise known as the Stolen Generations.

Children were taken because of official laws and government policies at the time, which aimed to assimilate the Indigenous population into the non-Indigenous community.

The children were renamed, forced to stop speaking their native language, and were told their parents no longer wanted them.

The policies were in effect right up until the 1970s, and many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still searching for lost parents and siblings today.

The first National Sorry Day was held 25 years ago, commemorating one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in federal parliament.

The report found the forced removal of Indigenous children had caused lifelong impacts on Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

Ten years later, in February 2008, then-prime minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; saying sorry to the Stolen Generations.

Ms Wallabindi said she remembered speaking to her mother on the day of the national apology.

"She was just so happy that it had happened," she said.

"It didn't change what had happened to her, but it meant that there was this nationwide acknowledgement that it had happened.

"It acknowledged the pain and trauma of a lot of people."

'Why should I apologise?'

But Ms Wallabindi said, around this time of year, Indigenous Australians can be subject to comments and abuse from the broader community.

She said she had heard many people questioning why they should be apologising, asking: "Why should I apologise? I didn't have anything to do with it, my ancestors didn't have anything to do with it", or: "It was such a long time ago, why are we apologising?"

"It's about acknowledging that it happened," Ms Wallabindi said.

"Whether or not your ancestors played a part in that is irrelevant."

Former rugby league star and proud Wiradjuri woman Katrina Fanning said National Sorry Day was about having empathy.

"Where there's parts of our history where there's tragedy, where there's struggle, I feel emotions for those people," she said.

Ms Fanning said providing support to others should not be limited to people you had personally wronged.

"I haven't caused a drought, I never fought in a war, but I have empathy for the situation that fellow Australians went through and the sacrifices they made to make this country a better place."

Ms Fanning said she felt a sense of sadness for those who did not acknowledge the Stolen Generations or want to say sorry, as they weren't able to understand the shared history of Australia.

"They don't understand that this whole community of people exemplify what it is to be Australian, with resilience and toughness and dignity and pride," she said.

"I feel like they're missing out on the fabric of Australia, not the other way around."

Ms Fanning said her family had been subject to similar comments about not wanting to apologise, but they tended not to react.

"They lived at a time where reacting would have them arrested, have them banned from town, have them banned from school," she said.

"I see a simmer in them. I see something that they've had to carry, and a burden that they've had to shoulder for a very long time."

Having the conversation

Maurice Walker was originally from Woorabinda in Queensland, and now invests his time back into the Indigenous community in Canberra.

He said his parents and ancestors were removed from their homelands before they settled in Queensland.

Mr Walker said marking National Sorry Day was important because it acknowledged the trauma and loss that was created through government policies.

"It creates a sense that the government acknowledges the wrong they did," he said.

But Mr Walker said it was important for Australians to have open conversations and allow people to ask questions, rather than allowing a continued spread of hearsay or myths.

Mr Walker recalled a time when he had been working as a crowd controller at a bar, and had overheard a group of people discussing Indigenous people losing their culture and their language.

"I pulled them up and said, 'That's an interesting conversation, where did you hear that?'"

"I think sometimes it comes down to people not taking the time to understand why Aboriginal people are acting the way they do."

'There are things that happened in our past that are unforgettable'

Ms Wallabindi agreed that learning about and educating others on significant events of the past, like the Stolen Generations, was important to address misconceptions or negative perceptions about National Sorry Day.

"I can't reconcile how you could live on this land, this land that's been looked after for tens of thousands of years, and not at least do your duty to learn about our shared history," Ms Wallabindi said.

Ms Fanning said one of the best ways to move forward was through education and truth-telling.

"I guess that for most Australians, until our most recent history, our school curriculums, our education systems, even our social norms and what's OK to talk about, have really blunted the ability for us all to learn more about what happened in our past, the impacts that has," she said.

Mr Walker said he understood that people of today's society were not involved in the actions of the past, but learning about the past was still an important step.

"There are things that happened in our past that are unforgettable, and our ancestors, our parents, our grandparents actually lived through that trauma, and that's what's been passed down to us as children," he said.

'Whole new level of negotiation' needed for Voice to Parliament

As a country, Australia will soon have to vote on whether an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should be enshrined in the constitution.

But Mr Walker said it was important to address how the Voice would work differently than other structures in the past, to ensure its success.

"There's a whole new level of negotiation that needs to take place before people are convinced that this structure is going to do anything different," he said.

Ms Fanning said she hoped the referendum would help bring an Indigenous voice to the table.

She said in the past, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had not had the chance to select a representative at the highest level of influence who represented the community on issues affecting them.

"By embedding something that doesn't just change at the whim of the government or an election cycle, but is guaranteed, will help us to tackle long-term issues that can't be addressed in just one election or funding cycle," she said.

"To be perfectly honest, to keep doing things the way we've done for a couple hundred years and expecting a different result is not good enough."

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Today is National Sorry Day, but many Indigenous Australians say they're still asked: 'Why should I apologise?'

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At just two years old, Monica Wallabindi's mother was stolen from her family. She says National Sorry Day isn't about making anyone feel personally guilty or responsible, but acknowledging Australia's past.

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Country - what it means for Aboriginal communities

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My stolen childhood, and a life to rebuild | Sheila Humphries | TEDxPerth

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Racism, exclusion, and identity strain are all factors that contribute to high levels of Indigenous unemployment, and ahead of the jobs and skills summit advocates want the government to look at a national overhaul.