RIC-0667 Aboriginal Cult 5-6

Using the Environment
A Natural
Environment
(page 73)
Aboriginals and the Environment
Indicator:
Teachers Notes
Recognises that Aboriginal people have interacted positively with
the natural environment.
This section looks at how traditional Aboriginal Australians lived in harmony
with their environment. It covers the resources they used, and how each resource,
whether living or non-living, was important to them.
The traditional Aboriginal people lived in harmony with their natural environment.
They used natural resources from their environment to meet their needs. These
needs consisted of shelter, food, water and spiritual wellbeing. They possessed
highly-developed survival skills. Traditional Aboriginal people were careful not to
overindulge in their resources, always thinking of the following seasons. They
made few changes to the environment and all living creatures and non-living items
were useful to them. For example, a simple tree had many uses and was an important
resource to the Aboriginal people. Not only could it be used for shade to sit under
on a hot day, but it was home to a range of birds and insects which were an
important food source. Trees could also be used for shelter. The wood could be
cut to make a humpy or bower shed. Both of these were basic shelters that
Aboriginal people used. The twigs and leaves from trees were used as roofs. Wood
from trees could also be used to make an assortment of tools and utensils necessary
for hunting and food gathering. The bark from a tree also served a purpose—
traditional Aboriginal people used bark to make shoes and carry bags.
Although there were dramatic climatic and environmental changes, traditional
Aboriginal people managed to survive because they could adapt to the changes.
These changes are told through the Dreamtime stories. Heavy rains can change
the environment by washing away soil and causing erosion. When a water source
became minimal, rather than use it until it became dry, Aboriginal people moved
on to find another source. When the heavy rains came in the northern parts of
Australia and flooding occurred, traditional Aboriginal people moved to higher
ground rather than building makeshift dams to hold back the water.
• Talk about the natural environment. What is it?
• Encourage students to talk about what they might find in the natural
environment; trees, hills, rivers.
• Discuss what makes a ‘built’ (i.e. made by people) environment.
• Take the class outside for a brief walk to look at the environment around
the school. Prompt them to say if items are built or natural.
• Have a display table in your room showing built items and those from the
natural environment. (Small examples such as broken twigs, sand and water
can be used, while the students may wish to make, for example, buildings
and cars themselves.)
• Tell the class how traditional Aboriginal people lived in the natural
environment without much of what we have today. They survived by using
various parts of their natural environment. (Give examples such as animals
and wild fruits, wood from trees for implements and shelter and so on.)
• Discuss the worksheet with the students. They will need assistance in reading
the objects to find in the picture.
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72 Australian Aboriginal Culture R.I.C. Publications www.ricgroup.com.au
ISBN 978-1-86311-807-1