Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

Links to student resources for each topic can be found by clicking on the links within the text.

       Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are important for all students to deepen their knowledge of Australia through engaging with an ancient and rich culture and knowledge base (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012). By studying their deep understanding of the biophysical environment and ability to adapt to and sustain their environment for thousands of years [Link 1], students can gain a deeper understanding of the geography of Australia (TR7, n.d.).

       The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have their own ways of looking after the environment and the land’s natural resources (CSIRO, 2012). For instance, Aboriginal peoples use fire to manage the wetlands in Kakadu to ensure its biodiversity by burning in order to control the density of Mudja grass [Link 2]. They also respected nature and understood the importance of never taking more than they needed, for example when they took eggs they would always leave some for future animal populations (Hume, 2008) [Link 3]. Students can learn God’s principle of stewardship of the earth’s resources through many of these practices (Deut. 22:6).

       Land is crucial to the Indigenous peoples and has many different meanings to them (Korff, n.d.). Land supplies their needs and is sustained by people and culture (TR7, n.d.). For the Indigenous Australian, land is not just an owned property, but rather every part of their lives is connected to it (Korff, n.d.). It is also important for students to engage with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples’ stories of the origins of particular landforms to fully appreciate their connection with the land (ACARA, 2012) [Link 4].

       These cultures have dramatically changed since the European colonisation, having a major impact on Indigenous land and the ways people lived (TR7, n.d.). Much knowledge of the land has been lost and needs to be persevered through the integration of this knowledge within the Geography Curriculum (Dudgeon, Wright, Paradies, Garvey & Walker, n.d.) [Link 5].

References

Australian Curriculum  Assessment and Report Authority. (2012). Draft F-12

Australian curriculum: Geography [PDF file]. Retrieved 10 April 2012 from  

http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/2._Draft_F-12_Australian

_Curriculum_-_Geography.pdf

CSIRO. (2012). Aboriginal wetland burning in Kakadu. Retrieved 10 April 2013 from

http://www.csiro.au/science/KakaduWetlandBurning

Dudgeon, P., Wright, M., Paradies, Y., Garvey, D. & Walker, I. (n.d.). The social,

cultural and historical context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Australians [PDF file]. Retrieved 10 April 2013 from

http://aboriginal.childhealthresearch.org.au/media/54859/part_1_chapter3.pdf

Korff, J. (n.d.). Meaning of land to Aboriginal people. Retrieved 10 April 2013 from

http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/meaning-of-land-to-

aboriginal-people

TR7. (n.d.). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fact sheet [PDF file]. Retrieved 10

April 2013 from http://www.tr7.com.au/pdfs/indigenous/

ATSI_Facts_Sheet.pdf