RIC-0667 Aboriginal Cult 5-6

Teachers Notes
Australian Aboriginal Culture
The Australian Aboriginal Culture series has been specifically written to provide
students and teachers with an invaluable resource for learning about the culture
of Aboriginal Australians. The book focuses on traditional Aboriginal societies
and will enhance student knowledge of Aboriginal life, social structures,
connection with the land and beliefs.
In the Past
Cultural Identity
Communication
Using the
Environment
It is important that the students understand that, although certain aspects of
Aboriginal culture may be common among groups, because of the size of
Australia and its diverse environments, there are many Aboriginal societies,
each with its own culture and often language. It is advisable to ask an Aboriginal
person to come to speak with the students and discuss the culture and lifestyles
of the Aboriginal people in that local community.
The Australian Aboriginal Culture series encompasses five topics:
In the Past focuses on Australian Aboriginal people and the significant events
of the past that have shaped Aboriginal culture. Students will gain an
understanding of how traditional Aboriginal people lived prior to European
arrival, the impact the first Europeans had on Aboriginal culture, and the
importance of passing on stories, songs and dances to younger generations of
Aboriginals.
Cultural Identity focuses on Australian Aboriginal people and their behaviours,
values and beliefs. Students will recognise the importance of maintaining
aspects of traditional Aboriginal culture and study the similarities and
differences among the lifestyles of traditional Aboriginal people and then
between those of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people today.
Communication focuses on the importance of language in Aboriginal culture.
Students will understand that, through language, traditional Aboriginal people
passed on their history, communicated laws and shared their knowledge of
the land. Students will also gain an awareness of the drastic effect European
arrival has had on Aboriginal languages.
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Using the Environment focuses on the intimate connection traditional
Aboriginal people had with the land. Students will understand that Aboriginal
people adapted their lifestyles to the land and that they lived in harmony
with their environment. Students will also gain an awareness of the impact
European arrival had on the environment and on traditional Aboriginal
people’s social and spiritual relationships with the land.
Rules and
Responsibilities
Rules and Responsibilities focuses on Aboriginal people and the social structures,
rules and laws that existed in traditional Aboriginal societies and which
continue in some communities today. In the upper Years, students will gain
an understanding of various state and Territory government policies regarding
Aboriginal people and the disastrous effects some of those policies have had
on Aboriginal culture.
ii Australian Aboriginal Culture R.I.C. Publications www.ricgroup.com.au
ISBN 978-1-86311-807-1