Links to recommended websites

A Chronology of Aboriginal and Islander History
Designed for primary and secondary age students in educational settings, this site aims to "provide an ever-growing and ultimately comprehensive chronology of Aboriginal and Islander history enabling visitors, particularly students, to explore and unpack the 'hidden history' of the First Australians."

Aboriginal Education Resource Library
The Aboriginal Education Resource Centre is run by the Aboriginal Education Unit, Department of Education, Tasmania. The Resource Centre contains an exemplary collection of resources that support the programs run by the Unit.

Aboriginal Education Unit (Tasmania)
The Aboriginal Education Unit manages a number of programs aimed at supporting Aboriginal Students, the provision of more Tasmanian Aboriginal culturally relevant and inclusive curriculum materials and resources, and support for schools and pre-school services to be more culturally sensitive and inclusive learning environments.

Aboriginal history web page of Perths Trinity College library
Trinity College, a member of the Dare to Lead Coalition, has a comprehensive, eclectic and fascinating collection of links to resources for learning about Indigenous culture and history.

Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum (APAC) (WA)
Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum (APAC) is a project that aims to broaden and deepen students' and teachers' understanding of Aboriginal cultures and ways of being. Teaching APAC will assist all students to be able to look at the world from an Aboriginal viewpoint and understand the different Aboriginal points of view on a range of issues such as reconciliation, social justice and equality.

Why was APAC developed?

The APAC project has been developed to provide teachers and schools with a wide range of resources, to enable them to improve the academic performance of Aboriginal students. It will also provide resources that will assist teachers to implement Aboriginal Studies.

All Department of Education and Training (DET) staff are obliged to undertake Cultural Awareness training. The APAC site contains resources, links and further information that will support staff to meet their obligations.

Aboriginal Perspectives and the English Learning Areas (TAS)
English teachers have significant opportunities to include activities and texts by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in their courses. Contemporary and Popular Literature Texts, Everyday Texts and Mass Media Texts can be drawn from the full range of text types (both by, and about, Aboriginal people) in which Aboriginality and issues related to contemporary indigenous people are concerned.

Aboriginal Studies WWW Virtual Library
The Internet Guide to Aboriginal Studies. There are links to University Programs, Governmental Web Resources, Aboriginal History, Intercultural Relationships, Native Title, Aboriginal Languages, Art & Culture, Bibliographies and an Online Bookstore.

Australian Bureau of Statistics Education Services
The Education Services Unit of the ABS provides a wealth of Indigenous data and resources through the "Indigenous Statistics for Schools" (ISS) resource on its website. The purpose of this online resource is to introduce statistics about Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

ISS a wealth of information about:

• The importance of Indigenous statistics
• How Indigenous statistics are collected and factors which impact on the collection, dissemination and interpretation of Indigenous statistics.
• Indigenous Census questions pre- and post-1967 Referendum
• Statistics about Indigenous Population, Education, Work, Income, Industry and Occupation, Housing and Health
• Complete glossary of terms
  

Australian Human Rights Commission
Working towards an Australian society where human rights are for everyone, everywhere, every day.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
Our Vision: Worldwide knowledge and understanding of Australian Indigenous cultures, past and present.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is the world's premier institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research, holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world's largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Indigenous Studies, and has its own publishing house.

Its activities affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

The functions of the Institute are:

• to undertake and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies;
• to publish the results of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies and to assist in the publication of the results of such studies;
• to conduct research in fields relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies and to encourage other persons or bodies to conduct such research;
• to assist in training persons, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as research workers in fields relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies;
• to establish and maintain a cultural resource collection consisting of materials relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies; and
• to encourage understanding, in the general community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies.
  

Contextual Teaching and Learning SA
Contextual teaching and learning: a strategy for improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal learners is designed to support educators of Aboriginal learners, from reception to year 10, who are looking for inclusive teaching and learning strategies. The model for contextual teaching and learning is described and fourteen units of work are provided, which were developed and implemented by educators from various settings around South Australia, including various country and metropolitan locations.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Dust Echoes
The Dust Echoes series is a collection of twelve aboriginal dreamtime stories collected from the Wugularr (Beswick) Community in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia.

The stories were recorded as audio and then interpreted as short animated movies by some of Australia's most talented emerging animators, and have enjoy screenings at film and animation festivals all over the world, to great critical acclaim.

The Dust Echoes series was produced in two parts. In 2004, working with the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation in Arnhem Land, the first four animations were produced by the ABC in Association with Deakin University. In 2007, The ABC then went on to produce an additional eight animations, again working with Djilpin Arts. See individual animation credits for more details on each animation.

The website aims to further explore these beautiful stories, to educate and entertain young people in order to instill a respect and thirst for the wealth of indigenous culture and stories on our door step.

Film Australia
Film Australia is one of the nation's largest producers of television documentaries and educational programs. They have a particularly large collection known as 'Indigenous Perspectives', a unique collection of film, video, stills and sound material which includes an invaluable record of life in indigenous communities of Australia, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific, from the early 20th century to the present. The Indigenous Studies catalogue features a selection of over 170 programs.

Footprints in Time - A Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children
This report gives some fascinating insights into families and the way families work to create a positive educational experience for their children.

This recent Australian report is very insightful.

Ganbina
Ganbina Koori Economic Employment & Training Agency Inc acts in the capacity of peak Indigenous representative body in Australia's Goulburn Valley for economic employment and training issues.

Ganbina performs this role either as a consultation organisation for the local indigenous community or as a direct service provision agency.

It has broken new ground in partnership arrangements with the likes of the business sector through its proactive training programme, 'Ladders to Success,' that facilitates he transition of young indigenous people into the mainstream workforce and "Jobs 4 U 2" providing career guidance in schools.

Guiding Tracks VIC
Guiding Tracks is a resource produced for teachers in Victorian Catholic schools. An initiative in response to national policies in the area of Indigenous literacy education, its aim is to facilitate attainment of appropriate literacy targets by Indigenous Australian students.

The resource materials consist of a booklet and a video, both designed to assist school communities in the implementation of a mainstream literacy program, which is inclusive of Indigenous cultures. The materials have been produced with guidance and critical review from both Koorie and non-Koorie educationalists and community members.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission - Voices of Australia
During 2005, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission invited people to share their stories about diversity and living together in contemporary Australia. The response was overwhelming - 500 stories came in from people of all ages and backgrounds from around the country. Their stories are warm, funny, painful, moving - and all have something important to say. The Voices of Australia audio CD is an honest look at how we live together. The stories give us the opportunity to listen to each other - the starting point to understanding and respect. They are also a powerful way of marking the 30th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act - Australia's first federal anti-discrimination law.

For more information about the project and to enjoy the stories, visit the website.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy

National Accelerated Literacy Program
The National Accelerated Literacy Program (NALP) aims to remove the educational divide faced by students who can't read.

The program uses Accelerated Literacy methodology (AL) to tackle low literacy levels in remote communities around Australia, particularly Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. In addition, NALP is delivered in schools in northern Western Australia, South Australia and one school in Queensland.

The program is jointly funded by the Australian Government's Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Northern Territory Government, through the Department of Employment, Education and Training (NTDEET).

National Museum of Canberra
The National Museum of Australia explores the land, nation and people of Australia. The Museum celebrates Australian social history in a unique way by revealing the stories of ordinary and extraordinary Australians, promoting the exploration of knowledge and ideas and providing a dynamic forum for discussion and reflection.

Stories of the Dreaming
Australian museum online Indigenous Australia site. Background information on Indigenous culture, stories of the Dreaming, Student factsheets & dictionaries, Teacher resources on Indigenous studies and curriculum guidelines, and a virtual tour of Museum Australia's Indigenous Australia gallery.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (TALSC) offers the following range of services -

Cultural Awareness and Education Program, Heritage and Site Assessments, Aboriginal Heritage Consultancy Advice and Services, Direction of providing 'Welcome to Country'

The Indigenous Ambassadors Program
Aim: To promote the importance of education, literacy and numeracy to Indigenous students and their parents.

How are Ambassadors selected?

Ambassadors are selected for their high profile roles in the areas of education, community leadership, sporting endeavours, health and entertainment. 18 Ambassadors have been selected for this programme. It is envisioned that this list will expand to include local and regional leaders. The Ambassadors have in common experience, leadership skills, commitment to education and recognition in Indigenous communities.

The Meeting Place
A tool for teachers and students expand their knowledge base of the Indigenous people of Australia. Includes lesson plans, teachers notes & reports on Indigenous Education Projects.

Twelve Canoes
Following the world-wide success of Ten Canoes, the Yolngu people of Ramingining in Arnhem Land offer the world a more in depth view of their society and culture. One of the oldest cultures in existence shares its stories using the most modern technology.

Twelve Canoes is a website which paints a compelling portrait of the art, culture, history and place of the Yolngu people whose homeland is the town of Ramingining and the Arafura Swamp of north-central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

The high-end site is a work of art in itself; honouring the people of the Arafura swamp, and built around twelve filmed 'visual poems? describing and illustrating many aspects of Yolngu history, life and culture from Creation, Our Ancestors, The Macassans, First White Men, Thomson Time, The Swamp, Plants and Animals, and Seasons, to Kinship, Ceremony, Language, and a slice of contemporary life in Nowadays.

Other features of the site include galleries which showcase Ramingining art and artists, music and songmen, language and common terms, and photographs that capture the essence of life in the region.

Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated
Established in 1976 as the Victorian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (VAECG), the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI) is a community based and controlled organisation. The major aim of the VAECG was to develop processes for the involvement of Victorian Koorie community members in decision making regarding education and training provision for Koorie students. This goal continues to be the core of the organisations' principles of Koorie community empowerment.