LibGuides: For Teachers: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Resources

New Boundary for Woi Wurrung and Bun Wurrung

Source: 'The Age', July 2021

There is a new boundary between the Woi Wurrung and Bun Wurrung. Use the above map to see where it goes through Melbourne.

Woi Wurrung Language

Kulin nation. Wurundjeri land. Woi Wurrung language.

Click on the image below to go to Deadly Story and learn some common words in Woi Wurrung (Wurundjeri Language). Student friendly too.

Video: Australian Curriculum website tour: Summary overview

A short tour of the Australian Curriculum website.

The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is an independent authority providing a rigorous, national approach to education through the national curriculum, national assessment program and national data collection and reporting program.

First People's Assembly of Victoria

First People's Assembly of Victoria
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is the elected voice for Aboriginal people and communities in future Treaty discussions.

The Assembly is made up of proud Aboriginal leaders. All are Victorian Traditional Owners, elected and appointed by their communities.

Enshrined in law, the Assembly is helping set up 3 important steps to lead to Treaty negotiations:
The Treaty Authority – an independent umpire through the Treaty process;
The Treaty Negotiating Framework – which will set how Treaties can be agreed in Victoria;
A Self-Determination Fund – so Aboriginal communities can be on a level playing field with government.

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
The Wurundjeri people (Woi wurrung language group) are the recognised Traditional Owners of a large estate that includes urban and rural lands as well as waterways. Wurundjeri Country includes the inner city of Melbourne extending north of the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to the Werribee River.

The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation offer a range of services, including:
• Cultural Heritage
• Land Management
• Cultural Practices for Events
• Language & Naming
• Cultural Consultancy

University of Melbourne: Indigenous Studies

University of Melbourne: Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Studies is an exciting interdisciplinary program that offers teaching and learning, and research activities that critically engage with the rich history, knowledge and cultures of Indigenous peoples both in Australia and globally. We ask students to consider how the knowledge and experience of Indigenous peoples might provide new insight and understandings to the complex issues and problems that confront contemporary western societies today.

Resources available in the NCC

NCC: Indigenous Studies collection
Click through to see books available in the Nora Collisson Centre in our Indigenous Studies collection. You can also visit the NCC to browse the collection, which is divided into two parts: Culture and Indigenous Rights.We also have works by Indigenous authors in Biographies, Poetry and Fiction.
ClickView: Reconciliation Week 2022
ClickView have curated a collection of videos to help explore National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week.
ClickView: First Nations Histories and Stories
A collection of videos to help explore National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, and other important aspects of Australia's First Nations histories.
ClickView: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
Another collection of videos that explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
ClickView: Movies - Indigenous Focus
A collection of PG & M-rated films that focus on and celebrate Australia's First Nations people.
Britannica Schools: Australian Aboriginal peoples
Australian Aboriginal peoples, one of the two distinct groups of Indigenous peoples of Australia, the other being the Torres Strait Islander peoples. It has long been conventionally held that Australia is the only continent where the entire Indigenous population maintained a single kind of adaptation—hunting and gathering—into modern times.

This article contains:
• Prehistory
• Traditional sociocultural patterns
• Beliefs and aesthetic values
• Aboriginal peoples in Australian society
• Additional Reading
Teaching Notes: Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia
We have the Junior Atlas of Indigenous Australia in the NCC. These teaching notes are for students in Year 5 and beyond.

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education
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 (pronounced narra-gunna-wally) is a word from the language of the Ngunnawal people, Traditional Owners of the land on which Reconciliation Australia’s Canberra office is located, meaning alive, wellbeing, coming together and peace.

The Narragunnawali online platform is free to access and provides practical ways to introduce meaningful reconciliation initiatives in the classroom, around the school and with the community. Through the Narragunnawali platform, schools and early learning services can develop a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), and teachers and educators can access professional learning and curriculum resources to support the implementation of reconciliation initiatives.

Digital Classroom: Australian Perspectives

Digital Classroom: Australian Perspectives
Australian Perspectives: First Nations, Gender, Migration is a free professional learning program designed for Australian teachers. It explores the notion of perspectives through first-person narratives.

All four episodes are available for teachers to use for their own professional learning, and in the classroom, until December 2022.  

Australian Perspectives will give you the tools to incorporate diverse stories in your classroom. This program aims to encourage students to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their own identities, and help them build intercultural understanding and respect for different viewpoints.

Reconciliation Australia: Share Our Pride

Reconciliation Australia: Share Our Pride
This website will give you a glimpse of how life looks from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective.

Share our Pride is designed to take you on an awareness-raising journey.

It works through material in a certain order so each chapter builds on the last. You'll get a taste of traditional cultures and learn about our shared history.

This site is not a substitute for these deeper experiences; rather it is a starting point for your journey. It’s designed so that you can go through the chapters in one sitting or dip in and out when you have time or if you’re looking for information on a particular issue.

As you work through this site, reflect on these questions:
• What might I do differently and what might my organisation do differently to build better relationships with Indigenous peoples?
• What might I do differently and what my organisation do differently to have and show respect for Indigenous Australians?
• What might I do differently and what might my organisation do differently to create opportunities for Indigenous peoples to help close the life expectancy gap and build a stronger Australia?

ACER: Learning Ground: Indigenous Education Research Database

ACER: Learning Ground: Indigenous Education Research Database
Learning Ground is your gateway to the latest national and international publications focusing on Indigenous education.

Learning Ground spans early childhood, post school education, adult learning, and encompasses areas such as cultural diversity, parent and community engagement, wellbeing, identity and oral language.

With over 10 000 searchable books, articles, conference papers and reports on Indigenous education from publishers in Australia and overseas, Learning Ground is an ideal first stop for policy makers, educators and graduate students.

Moreover, Learning Ground is an ideal place for scholars to disseminate their work to the national and international indigenous education community.

Learn some Woiwurrung words for everday use

The Age - Woiwurrung words for everyday use
What this video to see the words, hear how to pronounce them and understand their significance.
First Languages Australia
See which languages are spoken where. Use this page to access VACL (Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages) details.

ABC Indigenous Portal

ABC Indigenous Portal
The ABC Indigenous portal aggregates Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander stories from around the ABC & around Australia.

Access the latest Indigenous stories and features from ABC Radio, News & Current Affairs, TV and iview.

Koorie Heritage Trust

Koorie Heritiage Trust
The Koorie Heritage Trust at Federation Square takes Koorie peoples, cultures and communities from the literal and figurative fringes of Melbourne to a place that is a central meeting and gathering place for all Victorians. Our location at Federation Square is a recognition of our shared history and the importance of Koorie peoples as part of a broader 21st century community.

Professional Learning Resource: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE

Click on the image above to go to the Professional Learning sessions (two) run by VCAA in February 2023. Offered as being for the VCE, it is a resource that can be used by all teachers, not only teachers of VCE.

There is a video and accompanying slides for each session.

Use the first one (dated 15 February 2023) as an introduction to understand and develop strategies for how to respectfully and appropriately embed Aboriginal perspectives within VCE studies.

Use the second one (dated 22 February 2023) as an introduction to how to work with Indigenous students in your classroom.

You will see some of the resources mentioned in the sessions are given here on this NCC page.

Reviewing Resources - Australia-wide Guide

Reviewing Resources - Victorian Protocols for Koorie Education

Victorian State Government: Education & Training:Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

Education & Training:Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture
Teachers must follow protocols for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. These are known as the Koorie Cross-Curricular Protocols.

The protocols seek to protect the integrity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural expressions in a way in which all Australians can engage respectfully and feel connected to this identity.

Contents:
• Koorie peoples
• Principles
• Guidelines
• Using Koorie cultural expressions in the classroom
• Working with Koorie communities
• Indigenous cultural and intellectual property
• Preparations for the activity
• Potentially sensitive issues
• Advice on cross-cultural communication

Embedding First Nations Perspectives in the Curriculum

Embedding First Nations Perspectives in the Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum focuses on what needs to be taught in this space. Read this article to find out some general thinking about how to enact this.

Written by teachers for teachers, on this site there are Australian Curriculum v9.0 aligned resources.

QCAA Resources: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge

Resources: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge

The QCAA has developed a range of materials to support the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the school curriculum. These include such areas as Mathematics and Storytelling, Seasons and Stars and Visual Arts and Torres Strait Islander knowledges among others.

Reconciliation NSW Teacher Resources

Reconciliation NSW has a Schools Reconciliation Challenge.

Take a look at what other schools are doing - including activities and lesson plans.