Indigenous Australia For Kids For Dummies

A comprehensive, relevant, and accessible look at all aspects of Indigenous Australian history and culture

Indigenous Australia For Kids For Dummies is here to enlighten you about the history, struggles and triumphs of the diverse peoples that make up Australia’s Indigenous communities. Did you know that Australia is home to the world’s oldest culture? Experience 60,000 years of history and culture, plus, get right up-to-the-minute, with amazing facts about Indigenous sports and entertainment figures and info on what matters to Indigenous peoples today.

This interactive book has loads of features that will engage and excite readers aged 10-15 years old – and their teachers and parents! Featuring profiles of celebrated Indigenous people like Cathy Freeman and Albert Namatjira, as well as fun research projects and hands-on activities that bring Indigenous Australia to life. Ever wanted to connect with your local Indigenous communities? This book will give you ideas about how you can connect with First Nations peoples and other interactive ways to extend your learning out of the book.

• Discover the rich culture, long history and special values of the world’s oldest race
• Learn about Indigenous art, song, dance, literature and contributions to contemporary Australia
• Impress friends and family with your knowledge of Australian colonisation and Indigenous rights
• Figure out what’s going on in the lives of Indigenous Australians today – and bust the most common myths

This book is perfect for young readers who want to appreciate and understand the diverse, proud, and fascinating peoples that make up Australia's Indigenous communities.

Professor Larissa Behrendt is Distinguished Professor of the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology, Sydney. An award-winning author and director, she is also the host of Speaking Out on ABC Radio.

Foreword by Cathy Freeman xi

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: An Ancient People: Then and Now 5

Chapter 1: Understanding Indigenous Australia 7

Indigenous Cultures: Then and Now 8

There Goes the Neighbourhood 11

Fighting Back 13

New Problems for an Old Culture 16

Doing It for Ourselves 18

Chapter 2: Rich Past, Strong Traditions 19

The First Australians 20

65,000 Years of Tradition 21

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations Today 24

A Note about the Torres Strait Islands 30

Saying G’Day 32

Opening an Event: Welcome to Country 34

Defining the Identity of an Aboriginal Person or a Torres Strait Islander 37

Chapter 3: A Land of Cultural Diversity 43

Exploring the Indigenous Relationship to Land 44

Celebrating Cultural Diversity 46

Kinship and Totemic Systems 49

Talking Languages 52

Coming Together 56

Maintaining Links to Traditional Country 58

Chapter 4: Traditional Cultural Values and Practices 63

Going Back to the Dreamtime 64

Indigenous Worldviews 68

Living with Nature 71

Looking to the Skies 79

Controlling the Environment 80

Modern Cultural Values 82

Caring for Country 84

Part 2: Invasion 85

Chapter 5: First Contacts 87

Looking for the Unknown Southern Land: Contact before 1770 88

Landing in Australia: Cook’s Arrival 91

Establishing a British Colony 95

Seeing through Indigenous Eyes: Perspectives on the Arrival 95

Chapter 6: The Brits’ First Colony: 1788 97

Captain Phillip and the First Fleet 98

Starting a Penal Colony 100

Seeing How the Locals Dealt with the New Arrivals 104

Chapter 7: The Loss of People and the Land 113

Opening Up the Land: White Settlement Spreads 114

Spreading Disease Far and Wide 114

Meeting Aboriginal Resistance 115

Growing the British Colony 120

Dealing with Frontier Conflict 127

Ignoring Prior Ownership: No Treaties 138

Chapter 8: Taking the Children 141

Examining the Ideology of Assimilation 142

Rules for the Removal Policy 146

Acknowledging the Stolen Generations 150

Unfinished Business: Reparations and Compensation 156

Part 3: Indigenous Activism 165

Chapter 9: Citizenship Rights and a Referendum 167

Early Claims to Better Treatment 168

British Subjects, but Not Quite 173

Leaving Indigenous People Out of the Constitution 177

War Heroes: Frontier Wars and Beyond 180

Still Denied Equality 185

Not Taking It Lying Down 187

Steps towards Equality 190

The Freedom Ride 190

The Referendum is Announced 194

Chapter 10: From Apology to Uluru 199

A New Government — A New Era? 200

The Intervention Continues 204

Finding a National Voice 209

Part 4: Contemporary Indigenous Cultures 215

Chapter 11: Indigenous People and Sport 217

A (Traditional) Sporting Life 218

Playing Them at Their Own Games 222

Slipping on the Whites: Cricket 224

Stepping Up in the Boxing Ring 227

We Love Our Footy! 232

Track and Field 246

Championing Other Sports 248

Chapter 12: More Than Rocks and Dots: Indigenous Art 255

Understanding the Role of Art in Indigenous Cultures 256

Looking at Indigenous Art around Australia 260

Examining Torres Strait Islander Art 269

Thinking about Urban Indigenous Art 271

Indigenous Art as a Means to an Economic End 276

Chapter 13: Singing and Dancing 281

Traditional Expression through Music and Dance 282

Carrying a Tune: Contemporary Indigenous Music 286

Jumping into Modern Indigenous Dance 297

Chapter 14: Indigenous Literature: We’ve Always Been Storytellers 305

Moving from Oral to Written Traditions 306

Writing about the ‘Aborigine’ in Australian Literature 307

Establishing Indigenous Literature 313

Not Putting Your Foot in It! 317

Chapter 15: Performance Storytelling: Film, Theatre and Television 321

Acting the Part: Indigenous People and the

World of Films 322

Taking Over the Camera 329

Treading the Black Boards 338

Appearing on Mainstream Screens 344

Part 5: Dealing with Current Issues 359

Chapter 16: Closing the Gap and the Way Forward 361

Looking Back at Past Government Policies 362

Closing the Gap Reboot 367

Examining Health Issues 370

Looking at Housing Problems 372

Learning about Education Issues 375

Working on Employment Problems 383

No New Stolen Generations: Keeping Indigenous Children with Their Families 388

Chapter 17: Doing It for Ourselves 391

Self-Determination: More Than a Principle 391

Groups for Self-Representation 392

Working within the Existing Process 395

Part 6: The Part of Tens 399

Chapter 18: Ten Important Indigenous Cultural Sites 401

Uluru, Northern Territory 401

Kata Tjuta, Northern Territory 402

Nitmiluk, Northern Territory 402

Windjana Gorge, Western Australia 403

Daintree Rainforest, North Queensland 403

Mungo National Park, New South Wales 404

Yeddonba, Victoria 404

Ngaut Ngaut, South Australia 405

Wybalenna, Tasmania 405

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra 405

Chapter 19: Ten Indigenous Firsts 407

The First Indigenous Australian to Visit Great Britain: 1793 407

The First Indigenous Cricket Team Tour: 1868 408

The First Indigenous ‘Pop Star’: 1963 409

The First Indigenous Person to Be Australian of the Year: 1968 409

The First Indigenous Person to Be Elected to the Australian Parliament: 1971 410

The First Indigenous Lawyer: 1976 410

The First Indigenous Person to Make a Feature Film: 1992 411

The First Indigenous Surgeon: 2006 412

The First Indigenous Senior Council (SC): 2015 412

The First Indigenous Minister for Indigenous Australians: 2019 413

Chapter 20: Ten Myths about Indigenous People 415

‘Indigenous People Have a Problem with Alcohol’ 415

‘Indigenous People Are Dying Out’ 416

‘Indigenous People Who Live in Urban Areas Have Lost Their Culture’ 416

‘Indigenous People Were Killed Off in Tasmania’ 416

‘Indigenous People Are Addicted to Welfare’ 417

‘Too Much Money is Spent on Indigenous People’ 417

‘Real Indigenous People Live in Remote Areas’ 418

‘Indigenous Groups Don’t Handle Money Well’ 419

‘Indigenous Culture is Violent’ 419

‘Indigenous Self-Determination Has Been Tried but It Has Failed’ 419

Glossary 421

Index 427

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