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Selecting texts that represent ATSI experience

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Selecting texts that represent ATSI experience

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Working to repair the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is addressed as one of ATSL's teaching capabilities while students in all subjects in Australian high schools are compelled to work towards competence in Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history. In order to prevent doing more harm the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) have put together a resource to help teachers select texts featuring ATSI people and culture. They list five important rules to follow in selecting literature.
1. Authenticity

2. Balance
3. ATSI Participation

4. Accuracy and Support
5. Exclusion of content of a Secret or Sacred Nature

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For a text to be Authentic it should be up to date and accurate. It should avoid stereotyping and homogenising. ATSI Australia is linguistically and culturally diverse. Making students aware that there is not one ATSI culture is important. I have included a resource here to highlight one particular language group. The Marra language is spoken in an area on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast.

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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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Avoiding the temptation for tokenism is important when selecting texts that respect ATSI cultures. Choosing balanced texts means choosing stories featuring women, featuring ATSI people that live in cities rather than only selecting stories of ATSI people in remote areas, choosing to include the stories of Torres Strait Islanders and other stories that risk being marginalised. I have included a resource for learning about the languages of the Torres Strait Islanders.

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Meriam Mir is one of two traditional languages of the Torres Strait.

Meriam Mir (also written as Miriam Mer) is the language of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait. Linguistically, it is connected to the Papuan languages of the Austronesian family of languages.

There are two regional dialects:

The evolution of these dialects was determined geographically and developed over time with influences by traditional trade, visits, inter-marriage and kinship ties.

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Meriam Mir is one of two traditional languages of the Torres Strait. Meriam Mir (also written as Miriam Mer) is the language of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait. Linguistically, it is connected to the Papuan languages of the Austronesian family of languages.

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The story's of ATSI people belong to ATSI people. Interestingly the most widely studied text about Aboriginal People in Australia is Kate Grenville's 'The Secret River'
Chose texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People if you want to teach ATSI history or culture. I have included a link with an example of a lesson plan focusing on teaching texts by ATSI authors.

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The QCAA advise that many resources about ATSI culture are inaccurate. For accuracy and support choose texts that are identified by local, regional or
state Aboriginal Education
Consultative Groups. I have included a list of resources advocated for by the Aborigines Advancement league based in Melbourne's north

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links to sites of aboriginal interest Links have not been reviewed before being included in this list. Any inaccuracies or obvervations of offensive remarks need to be pointed out to the website authors not the AAL.

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5. Exclusion of Content of a secret or sacred nature

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5. Exclusion of Content of a secret or sacred nature

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Texts should be avoided if they contain information that is secret and should be restricted to ATSI people. Check with your local community if unsure.

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Aborigines Advancement League. (2003). Retrieved from Links to Sites of Aboriginal Interest: http://aal.org.au/LINKS/LINKS_01.html

Macquarie Pen (2009). Anthology of Australian Literature. Retrieved from http://macquariepenanthology.com.au/files/unit_3.pdf

Torres Strait Islander Language Plan. (2018). Meriam Mir. Retrieved from https://www.tstlanguages.org/our-languages/meriam-mir

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2017). Professional Knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

Macquarie Pen. (2009). Anthology of Australian Literature. Retrieved from https://padlet.com/ljmcleay1/ofvf5ei1m7e0?fbclid=IwAR2eEDWFSrFwBSdDcCUNF4zN6Xt1lj0Ox_d1wmv_S6_qaUvBxEyzsa_YNIg

Torres Strait Islander Language Plan. (2018). Meriam Mir. Retrieved from https://www.tstlanguages.org/our-languages/meriam-mir

QCAA. (2007). Selecting and evaluating resources . Retrieved from Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority : https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach2/indigenous_g008_0712.pdf