Aboriginal Studies

The boys and I have been really enjoying our Aboriginal studies and I wanted to share some wonderful resources, I am sure there are many more but these 3 sites were fabulous for us.

DUST ECHOES (taken from the site)
The Dust Echoes series is a collection of twelve aboriginal dreamtime stories collected from the Wugularr (Beswick) Community in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia.

The stories were recorded as audio and then interpreted as short animated movies by some of Australia's most talented emerging animators, and have enjoy screenings at film and animation festivals all over the world, to great critical acclaim.

The Dust Echoes series was produced in two parts. In 2004, working with the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation in Arnhem Land, the first four animations were produced by the ABC in Association with Deakin University. In 2007, The ABC then went on to produce an additional eight animations, again working with Djilpin Arts. See individual animation credits for more details on each animation.

This website aims to further explore these beautiful stories, to educate and entertain young people in order to instill a respect and thirst for the wealth of indigenous culture and stories on our door step.

The Australian Museum (Taken from the site)

Storytelling is an integral part of life for Indigenous Australians. From an early age, storytelling plays a vital role in educating children. Stories help to explain how the land came to be shaped and inhabited; how to behave and why; where to find certain foods, etc.

Gathered around the camp fire in the evening, on an expedition to a favourite waterhole, or at a landmark of special significance, parents, Elders or Aunts and Uncles use the stories as the first part of a child's education.

Then, as children grow into young adults, more of the history and culture is revealed. Adults then take responsibility for passing on the stories to the following generations. In this way, the Stories of the Dreaming have been handed down over thousands of years.

All the storytellers you will meet on this site are active in keeping the stories alive and passing them on the next generation.

These are stories of the history and culture of the people, handed down in this way since the beginning of time, since the Dreamtime.

Indiginous Australiana (Taken from the site)

Indigenous Australiana is a site about the Australian Aborigines and their links to their past beliefs and culture and present day existance in European society. This site is a new site that has been redeveloped from the Adnyanathanha Aborigines of South Australia site created by these students entered last year. The Adnyanathanha group from the South Australian Flinders Ranges is covered in depth. Through the use of various media, the site aims to develop a wide variety of skills and broader knowledge about the Australian Aboriginal groups for people of all ages. It aims to develop a better understanding of the Australian Aboriginal culture and to counter negative stereotypes. The site focuses on the Dreaming stories of the Adnyamathanha people as well as thier environment, language, lifestyle, technology and visual arts. It also discusses the subject of reconciliation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians and the eight key issues involved. There is an extensive activities section for teachers and students of primary and secondary schooling. It covers language, art, cultural and extended learning activities such as acrostic, image and word recongnition, crosswords with movable letters, scenes with moveable images, planning camp sites, analysing dreaming stories, critical thinking and source analysis activities. Frequent meetings were held as we found that we were able to work more effectively when working closely with each other. It was difficult to find free time as every one had to balance other commitments.