Abstract:
The Uluru Statement calls for a First Nations Voice to Parliament, a Makarrata Commission to supervise agreement-making between governments and First Nations people and truth-telling about First Nations history. These calls for Voice, Treaty and Truth provide context to assess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum content: how can school curriculum contribute to self-determination, sovereignty and truth-telling?
In 2008 Australia’s inaugural national curriculum was announced with mandated inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. Curriculum that supports truth-telling and strengthens First Nations sovereignty and self-determination can significantly contribute to a better future by equipping non-Indigenous people with knowledge about the way settler-colonial societies work.
The research privileged the voices of six senior First Nations academics at the forefront of integrating Indigenous knowledge and culture through curriculum development and teaching. In these research conversations, contributors shared many contemporary and current examples of ongoing harms of racism and colonisation in Australian education: lived experiences of First Nations students and families. Despite these experiences of harm, all contributors expressed a belief in curriculum to enable non-Indigenous Australians to develop an informed, respectful understanding of First Nations Peoples, histories and cultures. Mandating inclusion increases both the amount and visibility of this content, however the Western disciplinary structure excludes and marginalises Indigenous Knowledges and racialises First Nations people.
Rather than locating Indigenous content as a sidelined extra, contributors advocated for a deeper understanding of interconnections between Indigenous Knowledges and Western disciplines. Contributors endorsed a curriculum that represents First Nations strengths and diversity based on truth-telling to strengthen First Nations self-determination and sovereignty. Acknowledging challenges in bringing Indigenous Knowledges and the disciplines together, contributors nevertheless recognised the truth-telling role of curriculum as an essential foundation for more equitable Indigenous-settler relations.
In the Uluru Statement from the Heart, First Nations people called for a better future for Australia. The research clearly points to a need for change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum development with recommendations to support truth-telling and contribute to First Nations self-determination and sovereignty through curriculum. Curriculum that tells truths about Australia’s colonised history and supports First Nations self-determination and sovereignty assists all Australian students to understand the complexities of history as well as understand and appreciate the diversity, resilience and knowledges of First Nations Peoples. Curriculum can equip non-Indigenous Australians to listen to First Nations people and contribute to a better future.
In 2008 Australia’s inaugural national curriculum was announced with mandated inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. Curriculum that supports truth-telling and strengthens First Nations sovereignty and self-determination can significantly contribute to a better future by equipping non-Indigenous people with knowledge about the way settler-colonial societies work.
The research privileged the voices of six senior First Nations academics at the forefront of integrating Indigenous knowledge and culture through curriculum development and teaching. In these research conversations, contributors shared many contemporary and current examples of ongoing harms of racism and colonisation in Australian education: lived experiences of First Nations students and families. Despite these experiences of harm, all contributors expressed a belief in curriculum to enable non-Indigenous Australians to develop an informed, respectful understanding of First Nations Peoples, histories and cultures. Mandating inclusion increases both the amount and visibility of this content, however the Western disciplinary structure excludes and marginalises Indigenous Knowledges and racialises First Nations people.
Rather than locating Indigenous content as a sidelined extra, contributors advocated for a deeper understanding of interconnections between Indigenous Knowledges and Western disciplines. Contributors endorsed a curriculum that represents First Nations strengths and diversity based on truth-telling to strengthen First Nations self-determination and sovereignty. Acknowledging challenges in bringing Indigenous Knowledges and the disciplines together, contributors nevertheless recognised the truth-telling role of curriculum as an essential foundation for more equitable Indigenous-settler relations.
In the Uluru Statement from the Heart, First Nations people called for a better future for Australia. The research clearly points to a need for change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum development with recommendations to support truth-telling and contribute to First Nations self-determination and sovereignty through curriculum. Curriculum that tells truths about Australia’s colonised history and supports First Nations self-determination and sovereignty assists all Australian students to understand the complexities of history as well as understand and appreciate the diversity, resilience and knowledges of First Nations Peoples. Curriculum can equip non-Indigenous Australians to listen to First Nations people and contribute to a better future.