Discover

Discover and learn about our Indigenous history and culture with suggested resources from the ACT Reconciliation Council.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is made up of many different and distinct groups, each with its own culture, customs, language and laws.

Australia's First Peoples have been living on the Australian continent for millennia. They are the world’s oldest surviving culture; a culture that continues to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.

Start here

Explore these resources to learn more about Reconciliation to start a conversation today:

• Read the Uluru Statement From the Heart - the full statement from First Nations about where they beleive we should move forward.
• Learn more about Close the Gap - the campaign the bring heralth, education, employment and other life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to those equal to other Australians. 
• Learn more about racism and the work to eradicate it on the It Stops with Me website. 

Get involved in Reconciliation 

Reconciliation is everyone’s business. It’s what happens where we live, work and play. There are many different ways you can contribute, be it in your home, community, business or school.

Reconciliation will not be achieved until Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have equal and equitable access to the same opportunities afforded to non-Indigenous people.

Consider starting a Reconciliation Action Plan in your organisation or educational institution for a proven, structured and strategic approach to advancing to reconciliation.

Join the conversation and host a National Reconciliation Week event with friends, family or colleagues.

Explore the resource section below to learn more about Reconciliation.

Read

Read some books by Indigenous Australians and discuss them with your friends and book groups.  Consider heading to your local ACT Library to find titles from Indigenous Australians. Here are some suggested books to start:

• Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
• Hey Mum, What’s a Half-Caste? by Lorraine McGee-Sippel
• Tiddas by Anita Heiss
• My Place by Sally Morgan
• Mununja the Butterfly by Don Bell
• Blood on the Wattle by Bruce Elder
• Fair Skin Black Fella by Renee Fogorty
• Little Book of Red Black and Yellow by Bruce Pascoe (AISTSIS)
• The Cherry Pickers by Kevin Gilbert – a play
• Black is the new White by Nakkiah Lui – a play
• The Cherry Picker’s Daughter by Kerry Reed Gilbert – a memoir
• If Everyone Cared by Margaret Tucker – an autobiography
• Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia – edited by Anita Heiss with contributions from across Australia
• Holding Up the Sky (Aboriginal Women Speak)
• Bringing Them Home from the Human Rights & Equal Opportunities Commissions

• Welcome to Country  by Marcia Langton - Welcome to Country  highlights myriad ways to engage and deepen our knowledge and appreciation of the First peoples through travel.

• Talking to My Country  by Stan Grant - Talking to My Country sees Grant tell a personal story of growing up in a racist country and the urgent need to transform society.

• A Rightful Place: A Road Map to Recognition  - This collection of essays aim to pave a road towards recognition, both culturally and constitutionally.

Truth Telling

Truth Telling is an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to record evidence about past actions and share their culture, heritage and history with the broader community. See below for some examples of truth telling in practice.

Watch

The National Apology to the Stolen Generations

Learn about the National Apology to the Stolen Generations delivered by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008. Members of the Stolen Generations were invited to hear the National Apology first-hand in the gallery of the House of Representatives chamber at Parliament House. Watch the video here.

Source: AIATSIS Explore

Connection to Country

Aimed at children in grades 3 to 4, this video is great for parents to watch at home to teach young children why Country is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Learn about the First Peoples of Australia and the strong connection they have to the land through the showing of  Indigenous artefacts at the National Museum of Australia. The two presenters also discuss how language, country and spirituality are linked.

Source: National Museum of Australia Classroom Resources

Moments in our History

On this 2019 episode of The Point, the team joins a panel of guests to explore truth-telling in Australia with a focus on the key moments in our history since colonisation. Journalist Jack Latimore examines the impact that the Frontier Wars have had in preventing a treaty from being signed. Reporter Ella Archibald-Binge explores the little-known chapter of Australia's South Sea Islander history, 25 years after they were formally recognised by the Federal Government. Hosted by Rachael Hocking and John Paul Janke. Available on SBS on Demand.

Source: The Point, NITV - SBS

Travelling Country

In episode 1 of Australian Journey: The Story of a Nation in 12 Objects, viewers learn about the different perceptions of the Australian landscape between Indigenous and European people, with a focus on Burke and Wills.

Understand a variety of topics including how they viewed the land; how Europeans renamed land that already had names; how Europeans claimed the Australian land which already had inhabitants; the different maps by the two peoples (both are artefacts at NMA); the different understanding of the landscape; and how people survived on and off the land.

Source: National Museum of Australia Classroom Resources

Stolen Generations

Watch episode 7 of Australian Journey: The Story of a Nation in 12 Objects, a free web-based educational video series. This video explains what the stolen generation and forced removal of children is; the experience of a stolen generation child as a child and when they grew up; the history of what happened until Sorry Day; the laws that were used; banning of the language and other Aboriginal practices; and the places and institutions where stolen generation children were taken.

Source: National Museum of Australia Classroom Resources

You Can’t Ask That

A Q&A video from the popular ABC series available on ABC iview. This interview series invites people to ask questions that you can’t often ask people for fear of judgement. The answers to these questions are from people in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Source: ABC iview

 

Map of Colonial Frontier Massacres, Australia, 1788 to 1930

A key part of truth telling in Australia is understanding our frontier violence. Newcastle University researchers have meticulously researched the hundreds of massacres that occurred right across Australia and present their findings in an interactive map

Source: Newcastle University

 

Intergenerational Trauma Animation

This short video talks about how the trauma of the Stolen Generation is affecting the modern Indigenous Australian community through the cycle of trauma.

Source: The Healing Foundation on YouTube

The Uluru Statement From The Heart – an idea whose time has come

This TEDxCanberra talk published in 2018 features Dean Parkin, one of the participants in writing the Uluru Statement.  Dean introduces the context of the Statement and reads it out, while pausing to explain the different parts. The talk finishes with Dean suggesting things the Australian community can do to support the Statement. Dean also talks about Makarrata and why it’s important to the Aboriginal community.

Source: Tedx

Ask us anything: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

This video was made by The University of Sydney interviewing its Indigenous staff and students to confront myths and stereotypes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Source: The University of Sydney

To download or print a copy of this resouce list click here.