Beyond perspectives: Integrating local Indigenous knowledge/s into humanities and social science education

The importance of including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in mainstream education is highlighted in the current Australian Curriculum. Through inclusion as a cross curricular priority, policy makers and authors of the curriculum aim to address two needs. First, to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students see their cultural identity and knowledge reflected in their school experiences; and second, that all students can engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living culture (ACARA, 2014). These aims are addressed across states and territories through their branding of the curriculum, often with an emphasis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives for the various learning areas (ACARA, 2014). How these curriculum aims are translated into classroom practice and educational opportunities is as diverse as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and perspectives across Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories fall clearly within the domain of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) curriculum, which has a historic and contemporary focus to the study of human behaviour and interaction of social, cultural, environmental, economic and political context (ACARA, 2014). The focus of the following paper is on integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and HaSS education as outlined in the Australian curriculum in the context of a remote community in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia called Nauiyu. Walking and talking The context for writing the paper is the Growing Our Own project where the authors have worked together to learn and teach HaSS education within an Indigenous cultural context. In the process, both authors had roles as teachers and learners due to their different cultural backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Author 1 was a lecturer and Author 2 was a pre-service teacher. Ultimately, Author 2 gained HaSS curriculum and pedagogical knowledge that enabled her to effectively design and develop successful learning experiences for Indigenous students. Author 1 gained insight into the culture and history of Nauiyu and also received guidance on integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into units for pre-service teachers in a respectful and authentic way. In keeping with this shared learning, the writing of the paper followed the authors in a journey around Nauiyu as they talked about working together on the HaSS unit. It started with a walk close to the banks of the Daly River. It was a dry season day in Nauiyu and we were retracing our steps along the banks of the Daly River. On our last walk here, one of us had been student and the other teacher; this time we were coauthors discussing the importance of two ways learning. 107 Learning Communities | Special Issue: Growing Our Own: Indigenous Education on Country | Number 25 – December 2019 Church, previously the largest structure in the community, now overshadowed by the sports building across the oval. We looked towards the river and talked. Author 1: We have been here before, when you were looking at different parts of the community for the history and geography assignment. Author 2: Yes, I remember we talked about the river and the soil. Author 1: This time we are talking about why learning about these things is important for the children here. Author2: Yes, why they should learn both ways, traditional and western knowledge. Figure 1: Nauiyu community Source: Amander Dimmock, 2018. Country, language and culture Nauiyu is located on the banks of the Daly River, 225 kilometres south-west of Darwin in the NT. As we stand at the river, we are surrounded by the traditional country of the Malak Malak people, an area described as “wonderfully diverse” (McTaggart, Yawalminy, Wawul, Kamarrama, Ariuu, Kumunerrin, Kanintyanyu, Waya, Kannyi, Adya, Tjifisha, & Wightman, 2014, p. 11). The community itself is surrounded by small hills and bushland, with floodplain, kuderri billabongs and creeks close to the community. In the near distance, the ninmumggurr escarpment dominates the landscape. It is less floristically diverse on the sandstone than much of the surrounding country, with Malgin spinifex dominating, except for the rainforest pockets at the base before the land turns into open plains. 108 Beyond perspectives : Integrating local Indigenous knowledge/s into humanities and social science education Janice Crerar & Melanie Mullins The open country is ngityirr tyikmempi black soil planes, areas rich with eucalypts, Yerrsya cycad, Yerrgi and Yerrisynge miyerrmi types of pandanus, Merrepen sand palms, commonly used for weaving, and Wurrmuy spear grass, important for signalling that bush foods are ready to be harvested. Introduced plants and animals also prevail, some, like Miwatypala Rosella, are named from the word watypala, which means “food from white-fellas” (McTaggart et al., 2014, p. 193). Figure 2: Merrepen sand palms Source: Amander Dimmock, 2018. Language Traditionally, there are ten different language groups within the Daly River region. However, in 2018 most people spoke Kriol1 or Aboriginal English, and only a few people were speakers of Ngan’gikurunggurr and Ngan’giwumirri, two language groups that are collectively named Ngan’gi (McTaggart et al., 2014). Ngan’gi is described as a “rich language with a highly complex grammar and elaborate vocabulary” (Reid, 2018, p. 1). Data from the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey (Marmion, Obata, & Troy, 2014) indicated that most people in the community speak either Kriol or local traditional languages at home, however, the language of formal education in the local schools is predominantly English. This is due to the “first four hours in English” approach, established in NT schools in 2008 (van Gelderen, 2017), and the fact that relatively few local Indigenous teachers have been employed in remote Indigenous schools. 1 Kriol is a creole language that is a language resulting from abrupt colonisation processes (Dickson, 2016). 109 Learning Communities | Special Issue: Growing Our Own: Indigenous Education on Country | Number 25 – December 2019 While country, language and culture are important parts of everyday life for local people in Nauiyu, there is concern about the general wellbeing of youth in the community. The high rate of youth suicide and substance abuse have been recognised problems (Miriam Rose Foundation, n.d.). Lack of success at school is considered a contributing factor to this decline and there is a need for strategies that enable children to grow strong in culture while accessing education that will enable them to compete for employment in their local community (Miriam Rose Foundation, n.d.). The character of language and culture has been shaped considerably by ongoing colonisation processes, including the prevalence of visiting teachers who generally speak in English rather than using the local language. Overall, the history focuses on stories of settlement, farming, mining and missionaries but a few of the written reports include detail of bloody exchanges between the Malak Malak people and local miners in the late 1800s (Miriam Rose Foundation, n.d.). Settlement history The area was discovered by Europeans under the direction of Boyle Travers Finnis, the first governor of the proposed settlements in the NT in 1865. The river and surrounding area were named after Dominick Daly, the then governor of South Australia. The area was farmed for Puliki cattle, Miyerrkadi peanuts and sugar until the early 20th Century and a cattle station still remains in the area today. Copper mining was established in the 1880s and this brought violent interchanges between the miners and local people. Many of these incidents were reported in the South Australian Weekly chronicle between the years 1884 and 1886. Most of the reports concerned “natives murdering men” associated with the mine (South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 1886b). In 1886, the murder of three miners allegedly led to an indiscriminate and disproportionate massacre of local Aboriginal people (Elder, 2016) but the newspaper reported that “there is no evidence to prove that any natives were killed” (South Australian Weekly Chronicle, 1886a). The dissonance of reported history is important for HaSS education, since local oral histories can be in discord with recorded events. A reminder that a range of perspectives are required when reviewing history and culture for education purposes and for an understanding of people’s lives. This history is important since, not long after the reported massacres, around 1886, the Jesuits set up a mission across the river from the copper mine. They wanted the local people to be away from the “evil influence that the white people had” on them (Diocese of Darwin, 2017, p. 1). At that time, the local people were living a traditional hunting and gathering lifestyle, but the missionaries worked to introduce Christianity and farming practices. The Jesuits abandoned the mission in 1899 after a large flood washed away buildings and also because of failing crops, sickness and general lack of interest from the local traditional people of the area. Settlement from commercial ventures followed and local people started to work with Chinese and European settlers who were farming Miyerrkadi peanuts, Nugitin tobacco and other crops. By the early 1950s, many local people were living at a place called Bob’s Yard and at a cement block near the Bulbul bridge. At that time, welfare authorities were sending local children away to school in Garden Point on the Tiwi Islands. This caused great sadness to the local people. As a measure to keep the children closer, the local Elders approached Bishop O’ Laughlin in Darwin and asked for help to set up a health clinic and school for the people of Daly River (Diocese of Darwin, 2017).