NOTE FOR COACHES: Kate needs to know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture for the Cultural Competence Cluster of the Cert 3. Specifically, she will need to be able to identify any historical issues in relation to Aboriginal and TSI people and the land that the service she is working at is on.
I think the most effective way of teaching Kate about Aboriginal and TSI culture and these historical issues is to teach her similarly to how we would teach the children. That way Kate can develop her own understanding but also pass on that understanding in a child friendly way to the children in her care one day. I would use songs, stories and dance as well as immersion into Aboriginal cultural experiences like a smoking ceremony for example.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were the FIRST people in Australia. Another word to describe them is "indigenous" or "First Nations Peoples". But when the British came to Australia they made a law that said the land was empty and no-one lived here because they didn't count the Aboriginal people as humans. They took the land away from the Aboriginals. After many years, the Aboriginal people started to fight for their rights to get the land back.
Kate learnt about the Aboriginal Flag and it's symbolism.
Kate understood that the Aboriginal people have a strong connection to the land as she remembered the lyrics to a song we do with the children in music called "Koori Woman, Koori Man" which lyrics are "Koori Woman, Koori Man, caring for the living land". This was a great connection for Kate to make.
Because our lesson was on National Sorry Day, we then spoke about the stolen generations.
Between 1910 and 1970 over 100,000 Aboriginal children were taken from their families. Some were put into orphanages where they worked like slaves. The children with lighter skin were placed with white families. The children were not allowed to speak their language and they weren't allowed to do anything that was thought to be "aboriginal". They lost their identity. This has caused a lot of trauma to Aboriginal people for generations and has left the community with lots of problems now. Kate listened to a song called "Took the Children Away" by Archie Roache, a musician who was stolen from his family. Here is the clip to watch again:
TASK: Kate can you find the lyrics to "Took The Children Away" and write them out in your notebook. Do you have questions about the lyrics? Go through your questions with your coach. See if you can find out some stories of people who were stolen from their families during the Stolen Generations. What kinds of problems do those people have because they were stolen? The link below is to Aunty Sheila's story. Please watch this with your coach and discuss.
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