Introduction
The long road to reconciliation
Today you will use your inquiry skills to complete research on the history of Indigenous Rights within Australia throughout the 1900s.
As you complete your research keep in mind your learnings from Uncle Bill o Brien and Wayne Anderson and look for similarities and differences between their personal experiences and the experiences of other Aboriginal Australians not from our local area.
You can conduct your research with a partner if desired.
Task
Complete your own research using the links provided.
As you discover new learnings consider how they relate to today's inquiry question:
How did the changes in society impact Aboriginal peoples Australia- wide and how does this compare or contrast with the experiences of the Biripi peoples of Mid North Coast?
As your research progresses complete the Cause and Effect Chart so that you can:
- contribute your learnings to the class discussion at the lesson conclusion
- respond to the following question in your journal: How did Colonisation of Australia and the history of Indigenous Rights in Australia impact Australia's First peoples?
Process
Must Do
1. Familiarise yourself with Australia's Indigenous history by viewing this 14 minute video. Try to think about how you would feel if your grandparents and great grandparents were Indigenous and how it would make you feel knowing about their struggles
Can Do- explore any of the following links:
1. Indigenous history http://www.abc.net.au/rightwrongs/
3. Personal experiences of racism
4. The 1967 Referendum in our area showed a high capacity for racism against Aboriginal people. Could these attitudes still exist today?
https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/catalogue_resources/21470.pdf
5. Find a wealth of information on Aboriginal culture and history here: https://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia
6. For quizzes and more Indigenous history, access this site: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/
6. Read a poem and reflect on the message it conveys
a) Poem on the 1967 Referendum in Australia
https://1drv.ms/w/s!AhCC05q1zB7ghW9XjTfXvje4VpqB
b) Poem on being Aboriginal
https://1drv.ms/w/s!AhCC05q1zB7ghXEuvkxAJKXqtWdE
Evaluation
Our opinions may differ as we have all experienced difference lives. As you develop your own understandings of events in Australian history, take a moment to reflect on whether former Prime Minister Paul Keating's speech has any merit.
Redfern Park Speech
"[I]t might help if we non-Aboriginal Australians imagined ourselves dispossessed of the land we lived on for 50 000 years, and then imagined ourselves told that it had never been ours. Imagine if ours was the oldest culture in the world and we were told that it was worthless. Imagine if we had resisted this settlement, suffered and died in the defence of our land, and then were told in history books that we had given it up without a fight. Imagine if non-Aboriginal Australians had served their country in peace and war and were then ignored in history books. Imagine if our feats on the sporting field has inspired admiration and patriotism and yet did nothing to diminish prejudice. Imagine if our spiritual life was denied and ridiculed. Imagine if we had suffered the injustice and then were blamed for it."
Extract from the speech by Mr Paul Keating, Prime Minister of Australia, Redfern Park, 10 December 1993 at the launch of Australia's celebration of the International Year of the World's Indigenous People.
Taken From: https://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-social-justice
1. How did Colonisation of Australia and the history of Indigenous Rights in Australia impact Australia's First peoples?
2. Take a moment to consider if you have achieved your personal goals made in original first lesson.
Conclusion
Well done. You have completed your WebQuest on Indigenous rights.
Gather together:
Your Cause and Effect Chart
Your Journal entry
And lets discuss our findings!