Indigenous Understanding MYBennies: Indigenous Understanding

Here are some books that you may find useful during your studies.  Search the Bennies catalogue Oliver for more, or browse the Non-fiction collection NFS.

The fossil remains of a series of lakes and sand formations that date from the Pleistocene can be found in this region, together with archaeological evidence of human occupation dating from 45–60,000 years ago.

This relationship with animals is evident throughout First Nations knowledge systems. Animals are woven into the Dreaming, Songlines and stories that have been handed down from our Ancestors. They teach us lessons and illustrate connections between the natural environment and Country.

This presentation was made to briefly educate people on the culture of Aboriginal Australian people. This presentation was created by two Aboriginal university students with the purpose to create awareness in the workplace.

Many wonderful organisations provide quality educational resources that can be used to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

The following collection of websites and resources is not only valuable for teachers, students and schools, but also all Australians looking to better understand and celebrate Australia's First Peoples and rich Indigenous history.

Al-lo-wah jumna yenu way a pemel ya Daruga
(Together we walk on the land of the Darug).

We acknowledge that Mount St Benedict College sits on the land of the Darug Aboriginal people.

The Darug people are the traditional custodians of the land on which our College stands. It has been recorded that the Darug nation had occupied over 1800 km2 of land. The Darug people first came in contact with European settlers in 1788 when Parramatta was being established. They were slowly being pushed off their own land and had to fight for their land rights, but in 1816 the land was overrun by the European settlers. As they lost complete control of their land the Darug people were disconnected from their land and, through this part, of their culture was lost.

We must respect the land and value the heritage of the Darug people. By doing so we are respecting the Darug people and their culture. It is important to recognise and acknowledge the Darug people as they hold vital links to the heritage of the land. The connection they have with the land is precious and needs to be respected and maintained for future generations.

Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River, begins at the confluence of the Grose and Nepean rivers and ends at Broken Bay. This long, winding and ancient river has been home to the Darug people for millennia and is a vital and sustaining resource. Darug culture, spirituality and sense of being are all intrinsically connected to the river.

The eight-way framework of Aboriginal pedagogy brings indigenous ways of knowing and being ‘out of the dusty corners of anthropology and linguistics’ and into the Australian classroom (Yunkaporta & Kirby 2011, p. 206). It comprises eight interconnected pedagogies that see teaching and learning as fundamentally holistic, non-linear, visual, kinaesthetic, social and contextualised.

Across Australia, places are known for their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names. But what do they mean? 

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is a world-renowned research, collections and publishing organisation. We promote knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, traditions, languages and stories, past and present.

On February 26th, 1974 a young geologist managed to stretch Australian history by 20,000-odd years when he found 40,000-year-old human remains buried in a dry lake bed in south-western New South Wales.

Using these sources, it is possible to bring together a picture of the changing life of Aboriginal people in the Sydney region over many thousands of years.