Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority has 3 sets of organising ideas: Country and Place; Culture; and People.

Country and Place

Through the ‘Country and Place’ organising ideas, students are able to recognise the special connection to Country and Place and celebrate the unique belief systems that connect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples physically and spiritually to Country and Place.

‘Country’ refers to the physical environment that a particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ group has a relationship with. This is a reciprocal and deep relationship, where Country both owns and is owned by the People. For Torres Strait Islander Peoples, ‘Place’ is a space mapped out that individuals or groups occupy and regard as their own and that has varying degrees of spirituality; for Aboriginal Peoples, ‘Place’ refers to the special places that exist within Country.

Students understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are the Traditional Owners of Country and Place, and they develop their knowledge of native title law. Through these organising ideas, the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Country and Place are recognised, and the impacts of colonisation and the now overturned doctrine of terra nullius on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ownership of, and access to, Country and Place are acknowledged.

Culture

The ‘Culture’ organising ideas help develop students’ understanding of the cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including their unique ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are recognised as belonging to the world’s oldest continuous cultures, and the many historic and enduring impacts of colonisation on the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are acknowledged. Through these organising ideas, students understand that the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are not static and that they have internationally enshrined special rights that ensure they can be maintained, controlled, protected and developed.

People

Through the ‘People’ organising ideas, students learn about the occupation of the Australian continent and adjacent islands by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from time immemorial. Students develop their awareness and understanding that Australia has 2 distinct groups of First Nations Peoples, each encompassing a diversity of nations and peoples. Through these organising ideas, students build their understanding of the sophisticated social organisation systems, protocols and kinship structures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the significant contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ histories and cultures on a local, national and global scale.