Understand this cross-curriculum priority

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

Introduction

The Australian Curriculum sets consistent national standards to improve learning outcomes for all young Australians. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) acknowledges the gap in learning outcomes between First Nations Australian students and their non–First Nations peers. ACARA recognises the need for the Australian Curriculum to provide every possible opportunity to “close the gap”.

The Australian Curriculum is working towards addressing these 2 distinct needs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. Through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority, the Australian Curriculum:

…provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with the ability to see themselves, their identities and cultures reflected in the curriculum; and allows all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures. [1]

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority provides opportunities for all students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by learning about the world’s oldest continuous living cultures. Through the Australian Curriculum, students learn that contemporary First Nations Australian communities are strong, resilient, rich and diverse.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority engages with Australian First Nations Peoples’ knowledges, experiences, values and perspectives. ACARA, through its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Advisory Group, sought the voices of Australian First Nations Peoples to ensure the sensitive and appropriate identification of the essential aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures that all Australians should know.

Using respectful and culturally responsive language is an essential component of reconciliation and strengthening relationships between Australian First Nations Peoples and the wider Australian community. A critical step to becoming culturally responsive is the basic recognition that existing collective nouns used to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are increasingly being rejected by many First Nations Peoples of Australia.

“Indigenous” and “Aboriginal” are broad terms imposed on Australian First Nations Peoples without consultation. For many Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their communities, the terms “First Nations Australians” and “Australian First Nations Peoples” are widely accepted to collectively refer to both distinct groups of peoples. These terms encapsulate the cultural diversity of both the First Peoples of Australia (Aboriginal Peoples) and the First Nations Peoples of the Torres Strait (Torres Strait Islander Peoples) that existed prior to colonisation.

The Australian Curriculum preferences use of the terms “First Nations Australians” and “Australian First Nations Peoples” to collectively describe Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The terms ensure the culturally sensitive and appropriate identification of the essential aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.

While the Australian Curriculum uses the terms “First Nations Australians” and “Australian First Nations Peoples”, there may be other terms that First Nations Australians of a particular area or location prefer. It is important to use the terms preferred in a particular area or location.

[1] Council of Australian Governments, Education Council (2019) Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, p 15.

Structure

The framework for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Framework for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority

Figure 1 depicts Living Communities and Identity as central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Australians should know that Australian First Nations Peoples form significant, diverse and resilient living communities within contemporary society.

To further explore and understand Australian First Nations Peoples’ living communities and identities, the framework articulates and supports the acquisition of deeper knowledge and understanding through the 3 interconnected aspects of Country/Place, Culture and People.

Country/Place

Recognises the special connection to Country/Place and celebrates the unique belief systems that connect Australian First Nations Peoples physically and spiritually to Country/Place.
Positions First Nations Australians as the Traditional Owners of Country/Place and highlights how native title law recognises the rights and interests of both the First Peoples of Australia and the First Nations Peoples of the Torres Strait in Country/Place.
Acknowledges the impacts of colonisation and the doctrine of terra nullius on First Nations Australians’ ownership of, and access to, Country/Place.

Culture

Examines the cultural diversity of the First Peoples of Australia and the First Nations Peoples of the Torres Strait, including their unique ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
Recognises Australia’s First Peoples as belonging to the world’s oldest continuous cultures and acknowledges the many historic and enduring impacts on the cultures of First Nations Australians.
Clarifies that the cultures of First Nations Australians are not static and have internationally enshrined special rights that ensure they can be maintained, controlled, protected and developed.

People

Acknowledges the occupation of the Australian continent by the First Peoples of Australia for more than 60,000 years.
Highlights that Australia has 2 distinct First Nations Peoples, each encompassing a diversity of nations and peoples.
Examines the sophisticated social organisation systems, protocols, kinship structures and the significant contributions of First Nations Australians' histories and cultures on a local, national and global scale.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority has 3 sets of organising ideas to explain each of the 3 aspects of Country/Place, Culture and People. Together, they identify what many First Nations Australians believe is essential cultural knowledge that all Australians should know.

Key connections

Cross-curriculum priorities support and deepen student engagement with learning area content and are best developed within the context of learning areas.

In English, students explore First Nations Australians’ cultural knowledge, traditions and experiences represented and communicated through traditional, modern and contemporary texts. The histories and cultures are reflected across the 3 strands.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority within English provides culturally relevant and engaging contexts for all students to:

appreciate literature created by First Nations Australian authors and illustrators
engage with and respond to literature about the histories, cultures and perspectives of First Nations Australians
examine texts that include events, Country/Place, identities and languages of First Nations Australians
identify and discuss the representation of First Nations Australians’ histories and cultures
explore oral narrative traditions of First Nations Australians and their importance for connections to people, Country/Place and cultural identity.

Humanities and Social Sciences is the primary learning area in which students explore and deepen their knowledge of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the world’s oldest continuous living cultures and First Nations Peoples of Australia.

This learning area provides students with the opportunity to understand the histories of Australian First Nations Peoples, which involve occupation of the Australian continent for more than 60,000 years. Students understand the enduring impacts of colonisation on Australian First Nations Peoples’ cultures and impact of the doctrine of terra nullius on ownership of and access to Country/Place. Importantly, this learning area includes the significant contributions of Australian First Nations Peoples’ histories and cultures on a local, national, regional and global scale.

Students appreciate and celebrate the diversity of Australian First Nations Peoples’ cultures. They understand how these cultures are based on special connections to Country/Place, and have unique belief systems and ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing linked to these physical and spiritual interconnections. The development of these understandings includes exploring contemporary issues that demonstrate the dynamic nature of Australian First Nations Peoples’ cultures.

This learning area develops students’ knowledge of citizenship that positions First Nations Australians as the Traditional Owners of Country/Place and highlights how native title law recognises Australian First Nations Peoples’ rights and interests. Students examine the sophisticated social organisation systems, protocols, kinship structures, economies and enterprises of First Nations Australians.

To study this learning area, students use primary and secondary sources, including oral histories and traditional, culturally appropriate sources to see events through multiple perspectives. This allows them to empathise and ethically consider the investigation, preservation and conservation of sites of significance to First Nations Australians.

In Health and Physical Education, students can explore the roles identity and connection play in the health and wellbeing of the oldest continuous living cultures in the world. Students have opportunities to investigate the lived experiences of First Nations Australians and their impact on identities, connection to Country/Place, and the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. Students gain insights into the impact systemic racism and discrimination have had on Australian First Nations Peoples. They can investigate strategies that promote truth-telling and build cultural awareness to develop empathy and respectful relationships.

Students appreciate how family and kinship structures maintain and promote health, safety, relationships and wellbeing within First Nations Australian communities. They can learn how the sharing of cultural knowledge is aligned to ceremonies and roles within their communities. Students explore how First Nations Australians have long successfully developed complete diets that meet nutritional requirements. They see how foods were and continue to be used for medicinal purposes. Students also investigate the origins, purpose and history of traditional and contemporary First Nations Australian games. There are also opportunities for them to explore the significant contributions First Nations Australians have made to the health and sporting fields.

Languages recognises the interrelationship of languages and cultures. The Australian Curriculum: Languages together with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority enable students to develop knowledge and understanding by engaging students with the languages and cultures of First Nations Australians. Students can make interlinguistic and intercultural connections across languages with First Nations Australian languages and their cultural expression. They develop understanding of concepts related to the diverse linguistic landscape of Australia.

The Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages provides opportunities for all students to learn languages of First Nations Australians. Each language is recognised as belonging to a group of people who are its custodians. Schools must seek advice and consent from the custodians when developing language-specific curricula and planning language programs.

In Mathematics, students can engage with and value the histories and cultures of Australian First Nations Peoples in relation to mathematics. First Nations Australians have complex kinship systems that connect all people to environmental systems, which is the hallmark of sustainability. Many First Nations Australians are adept at pattern recognition and algebraic thinking, which informs their cultural expressions, ways of caring for Country/Place and the development of material culture.

Content elaborations in Mathematics have been structured around identified themes in Australian First Nations Peoples’ mathematical thinking, understandings and processes, in contexts that can be taught across the content strands and through the year levels. They provide a rich, connected narrative by identifying contextual examples from around Australia.

In Science, students have opportunities to learn that Australian First Nations Peoples have longstanding scientific knowledge traditions and developed knowledge about the world by making observations, using all the senses, engaging in prediction, hypothesising and testing (trial and error), and making generalisations within specific contexts such as the use of food, natural materials, navigation and sustainability of the environment.

Science gives students opportunities to become aware that First Nations Australians have worked scientifically for millennia and continue to provide significant contributions to developments in science. Content elaborations in each strand include examples of particular First Nations Australians’ science knowledges and suggestions for how students can explore cultural techniques and processes employed by First Nations Australians, such as cooking methods, production of pigments and dyes, and fire lighting methods. Through the exploration of the contributions of Australian First Nations Peoples to areas such as medicine, mining, ecology, fire management, habitat restoration and water management, students can investigate the ways First Nations Australians’ knowledges and Western knowledges can be used in combination to advance scientific understanding and to care for Country/Place.

Science inquiry provides an opportunity for students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of First Nations Australians and their cultures through respectful approaches to field work, consultation and collaboration. Students consider ethical considerations regarding access to Country and Place, the treatment of cultural heritage sites and respect for intellectual property rights.

In Design and Technologies students can explore some of the designs and technologies of the oldest continuous living cultures in the world. Through varied and engaging contexts, students can learn how proven designed solutions from long ago endure today and can at times inspire contemporary solutions.

The engineering principles and systems employed by First Nations Australians today, and in the past, provide culturally relevant and engaging contexts for all students to investigate how First Nations Australians have been successful at sustaining the world’s oldest continuous living cultures. Students can investigate how First Nations Australians’ knowledges of natural materials have developed over millennia and have culminated in deep knowledge of their properties and performance. Likewise, students have the opportunity to explore successful systems that First Nations Australians have developed to join materials for the design and production of a diverse range of essential, effort-reducing technologies. Students can investigate the diverse food and fibre production techniques developed by First Nations Australian communities before colonisation and see how this capacity has sustained Aboriginal Australia for over 60,000 years and through numerous major climatic and environmental shifts. They have opportunities to explore how First Nations Australians have long successfully developed complete diets that meet nutritional requirements and see how foods were and continue to be investigated for their nutritional and medicinal qualities.

Through Digital Technologies students can gain insights into how First Nations Australians are often at the forefront of adopting digital systems, and also learn how they often endure the inequities of digital system performance and capabilities, especially when living on Country/Place far from the nation’s city centres. Students can explore how many First Nations Australians are embracing digital tools as a means to maintain, control, protect and further develop culture through the digitisation of cultural expressions. They have opportunities to examine the complexities of data and the need for ethical protocols when using systems to acquire, manage and analyse data. Students can explore how First Nations Australian ranger groups use computational, design and systems thinking in their contributions to preferred futures such as restoring damaged environments and the monitoring and protection of endangered and vulnerable species. Through the context of material culture production techniques such as weaving, students can be introduced to designing algorithms and exploring how such practices can be converted into programmable automation.

Through The Arts, students learn about the central place of the arts in the oldest continuous living cultures in the world. They explore how First Nations Australians recognise and communicate connections to Country/Place through cultural expressions that draw on belief systems connected to the lands, seas, skies and waterways.

Students learn about the distinctiveness and diversity of First Nations Australians’ cultural practices and expressions that represent unique ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing. They learn how First Nations Australians are using materials, forms and technologies in innovative ways to create arts works that celebrate, challenge and communicate ideas and perspectives. Students explore ways in which First Nations Australians combine movement, sound, language and visual content to tell stories and share knowledge. They learn that arts works that carry cultural knowledge are known as cultural expressions: ‘expressions that result from the creativity of individuals, groups and societies, and that have cultural content’. UNESCO, 2017

Through The Arts curriculum, students learn that First Nations Australian cultures have internationally enshrined rights to ensure that these diverse cultures can be maintained, controlled, protected and developed. They also learn about rights relating to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and how these rights can be protected through respectful application of protocols.

As they examine ways in which First Nations Australians continue to practise and revitalise their cultures, students also learn about the impact of historical and contemporary events on their cultures. Students learn about the significant and ongoing contributions of First Nations Australians to Australian identity and how these contributions are acknowledged locally, nationally and globally. Showcasing and celebrating these contributions to Australia’s cultural life allows students to engage with the voices of First Nations Australians. It also encourages collaboration with artists, creative practitioners and knowledge holders from First Nations Australian communities.

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Cross-curriculum priority documents and glossaries are available on the downloads page.

Cross-curriculum priority downloads