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Importance of indigenous education
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Recommended: Importance of indigenous education
To reflect on my role of bringing Indigenous origins, culture and history to my classroom I will start by unpacking the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL] standard; “Standard 2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians” (AITSL, 2012). What this means to me as a preservice teacher is that I must gain knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language, and history, and demonstrate my respect and understanding of all Indigenous cultures (AITSL, 2012). I need to make sure my knowledge is accurate and bring this knowledge to my classroom in a sensitive and positive manner (shareourpride.reconciliation.org.au, 2016). I need to get to know the history and …show more content…
In the classroom, we can include Indigenous themes in many ways. I will introduce Acknowledgement to Country and explain its significance to my students, and if possible invite the local Elders into our classroom to give a Welcome to Country and share practices, stories, and experiences from their culture, if they are willing and able to (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016, pp. 14-15). The traditional owners of the land in which I live are the Whadjuk people and there is a wealth of information at www.whadjuk.info which could be used in the classroom. When discussing Australian history, we need to go beyond the white settlement story and examine Australia’s long standing Indigenous history. I will encourage my students to reflect on their lives and contrast them to past events, and understand how important it is for us to pay respect to Indigenous history, but not treat Indigenous people as victims or lesser than others (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016, p. 228). Keeping age and culture appropriateness in mind, you could even show students the film ‘Rabbit proof fence’. The students can investigate their own family history and we can objectively identify similarities and
Throughout ancient history, many indigenous tribes and cultures have shown a common trait of being hunter/gatherer societies, relying solely on what nature had to offer. The geographical location influenced all aspects of tribal life including, spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices. Despite vast differences in the geographical location, reports show various similarities relating to the spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices of indigenous tribal cultures.
This essay will discuss the Aboriginal Education policies in Victoria and Federally and how these policies impacted upon the children of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This essay will further analyse the impact these past policies had on the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islanders’ families and children’s education and how current policies were put in place to assist indigenous students’ access to education. Further to this an analysis of how teachers can implement these changes in the curriculum and classroom.
Discussion Ancient Aboriginals were the first people to set foot on the Australian continent, over 40,000 years or more before colonization (Eckermann, 2010). They survived by hunting and gathering their food, worshipping the land to protect its resources, and ensuring their survival. The aboriginal community has adapted to the environment, building a strong framework of social, cultural, and spiritual beliefs (Eckermann, 2010). Colonisation of Australia began in 1788, when Englishman Captain Cook claimed the land as an empty, uninhabited, continent giving it the classification Terra Nullius and leaving it open to colonization. Eckermann (2010), stated that the English failed to recognise the aboriginal tribes as civilized, co-inhibiters of the land, feeling they had no right to a claim.
Students will partake in a seven week and seven lesson series on marginalized groups in America, these groups include- Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Women, Arab Americans, and Children. Lessons will take place the last two months of school, once we reach the 1960’s in American history. This is in an effort to have students realize that there is not merely one group that has seen racism, discrimination, and a near destruction of their culture. The following lesson will be on Native American portion of the unit. The goal of this lesson is for students to understand that each period from colonization to self- determination had causes of historical context and can still be felt today by many Native Americans.
To help resolve these issues of youth education there needs to be a curriculum change where there becomes a willingness to confront fear and ignorance; this is ought to be a starting place for learning about Indigenous health. People who are facilitating these health and wellness institutions or workshops in schools need to acknowledge that now knowing and understanding Indigenous culture is a perpetual issue that impacts the health and wellness of Indigenous and their relationship to non-Indigenous
For First Nations youngsters, relevant education should include education about their heritage. Where Aboriginal children are in school with other Canadians, this part of the curriculum needs to be shared generally, as self-esteem grows when an appreciation of one’s background is shared by others.
Land- Indigenous people don’t think of their land as soil, rock and dirt but for Indigenous Australians it is all about how the land is spiritual (Australian Indigenous Culture Heritage 2015).
In the late eighteenth century prior to the arrival of the first European settlers, Australia was once believed to be a terra nullius, an uninhabited “nothing land.” The European colonizers of Australia sought to make something of this land they believed they had discovered. Operating under this false notion, colonizers systematically invaded and conquered Australia, imposing their own ways onto the land and its original custodians, the Aboriginal people. The introduction of western settlements disrupted much of Aboriginal life. In a publication titled, Is it in the Blood? Australian Aboriginal Identity, author Myrna Ewart Tonkinson discusses Western imperialism and its implications on Aboriginal identity.
21st century media and popular culture has encouraged and normalized the idea that Aboriginal history and Canadian history are two unconnected entities. The nativity and ignorance of most individuals in modern Canadian society has resulted in the thought of distinct separation between Canadian history and Aboriginal history. In a common goal to further educate Canadians about the lives and history of Aboriginal People it requires Aboriginal People and Non Aboriginal People to acknowledge and relate to one another, respecting one another’s laws and institutions, educating and empowering one another and working together peacefully to create social justice for the mutual benefit of the entire society. Self-awareness serves as a catalyst for the goal of Aboriginal education.
To the indigenous community, country and story creates a strong cultural identity and is the starting point to their education. The second outcome; connected with and contribute to their world, is shown through the experience and learning of the indigenous culture and the history of the country and land they live in. Outcome three; strong sense of wellbeing is shown through enhancing indigenous children’s wellbeing socially, culturally, mentally and emotionally through learning about their heritage, country and history through the stories passed down through generations and gaining a sense of belonging and self identity. Both outcome four and five; confident and involved learners and effective communicators are important as they show a unity and understanding between the indigenous culture through learning about the country and stories together about the indigenous
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.
According to Keefe (1992:53) “Aboriginality is a complex social reality, only artificially explained by the abstract divisions of resistance and persistence’ and modern history demonstrates the connections between official education policies (or attitudes used by the dominant group) and key events in Aboriginal Australian history.
Since the British settled in Australia, Indigenous Australians have had cultural conflict. The Europeans believed that Aboriginal people were lower than the settlers and that their culture was more primitive to the culture of the British settlers. An example of this is how the Aboriginal people had a very strong spiritual connection to the land. Land could not be owned by a single person but had to be looked after by all of the community. When British settlers saw that the land had no fences they took the land for themselves to be used for farming. Many Aboriginals were losing their land. It made it worse when the Aboriginal believed that to make it fair the Europeans shared their products made from the farm. The Aboriginals then took food from the farm without consulting the British which resulted in violent conflicts between the two. Over time the government began to give the Aboriginals more rights, although still not many. They were given a certain amount of land but were not allowed to leave without permission.
Another memory I have of Native Americans is when I questioned my father about the Indian burial ground located beside our home. One day I was playing in the woods beside my house when I found a sign that said something about a grave site. I ran in the house to ask my dad about what this meant. He went on to tell me about how Will Rogers’ great-great-grandmother, Susannah Cordery, was buried in the land near my house. He also showed me an article that had hung on our wall for years that I never noticed. It talked about the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans who lived on the land my home was built on. This peaked my interest on Native Americans and urged me to pursue research on the Native Americans that are still living.
The IK embedded in the stories reveal how such knowledge is instrumental in ushering in and mitigating ecological catastrophe (Woollett, 2007). Cajete (2000) observes that “ultimately, the goal of Indigenous education is to perpetuate a way of life through the generations and through time. The purpose of all education is to instruct the next generation about what is valued and important to a society” (p. 184). In Canada, Native schools have begun to emerge where Native people (of particular tribal groups) conduct education for children in their own languages and develop a curriculum which is based on reclaiming traditional knowledges and worldviews, for example, the importance of land and environment and what land and environment means to Aboriginal