Showing posts with label Learning Stage - Senior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning Stage - Senior. Show all posts

Thursday, March 21, 2013

International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The 21st of March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

This date was chosen as it is the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa. Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations states:
Each year we mark this Day on the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. We can never forget the 69 unarmed and peaceful demonstrators who were killed by South African police as they protested the country’s unjust apartheid laws. Apartheid has long since been dismantled and there have been other important advances in the struggle against racism. These include treaties and declarations, the development of an international framework to combat racism, and national protection systems by numerous States. Despite much progress, racism remains a pervasive menace to individuals and ethnic and religious groups worldwide. It is a threat to stability and a grave violation of human rights. We must join forces to end racism, and sport can help reach this goal. On this International Day, let us recommit to ending racial discrimination and realizing our vision of justice, equality and freedom from fear for all.
It is my personal experience that Australian's do not have a sophisticated understanding nor an ability to identify, talk about and/or critically reflect on their own racism - individual, institutional and systemic. "I'm not racist" is frequently heard in the media as a defence. I would argue that probably all of us are racist to some degree or another. It doesn't make it okay of course. But it does mean that when you attempt to defend yourself with "I'm not racist", you look, sound and probably are being absurd, and un-productive. It takes a long time to grapple with one's own racism - to be able to self-identify it, to challenge it. It's an ongoing journey of reflection and personal challenge.

Here are some links that may assist you on your journey to better understanding racism -
  • All Together Now - is a not-for-profit foundation set up to directly challenge and combat racism in Australia
  • It Stops With me - campaign to challenge racism from the Human Rights Commission
  • Racism: No Way - education campaign to challenge racism from NSW Government, Department of Education and Training
It's good to also share individual experiences of racism, so I've "mined" the Deadly Bloggers list for some personal reflections on racism -
I'll end with this poem by the very very deadly Murri poet Steven Oliver....



In Australia, other commemorations are also held on the 21st of March. These include Harmony Day and Closing The Gap.

If you know of any other deadly posts on racism, let me know so I can add update the list above ...

Cheers, Leesa

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Trevor Nickolls - Dreamtime to Machinetime

Image of From Dreamtime 2 Machinetime (1979) by Trevor Nickolls at 
QAG|GOMA in Brisbane, 2013

This week Aboriginal artist Trevor Nickolls passed away. Most Australians are not aware of this work of Mr Nickolls, and the way he paved a path of possibility for those artists whose work we value and respect so much today.

Take some time out of your week to learn more about his work. Here are some links -


You can also use Google images to see more of his work.

Trevor Nickolls said of his 1979 work:
My life revolves around painting and drawing. I incorporate Aboriginal and Western techniques and symbolism to make contemporary art that relates to both cultures today. My paintings are to share with everyone. I look to bridge the gap between Western art and Aboriginal art. My work is a balancing act, like walking a tightrope between my dreams and my life when I'm awake - from Dreamtime to Machinetime.

Source of quote: Interpretive Panels at QAG|GOMA 14 June 2013.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Happy Birthday David Unaipon


Today, the 28th of September is the 140th birthday of David Unaipon. He was the first published Aboriginal author. He was a scientist and mathematician, an inventor and a religious educator.

We can only image what his life, as an Aboriginal man must have been like 140 years ago. It is not hard to imagine the hardships and disappointment he would have experienced as a result of society's embedded racism against Aboriginal people. And we can only imagine what he might have achieved had he been given the same opportunities as other men of his age.

Sadly, most Australian's, young and old, will say "who?" when we mention his name. Let's spread the word of him and work and begin to make him the household name he should be.

More information about David Unaipon:
Image credit: A deadly birthday cake for David Unaipon by Annie Ah Kee using Minecraft.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Aboriginal diggers fighting for recognition of their service

Our nation have fallen short on all accounts when it comes to our treatment of our Indigenous servicemen and women. Pastor Denis Atkinson
In our previous posts about an Indigenous perspective of ANZAC Day, we wrote about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women being discriminated against.

Here is a link to Uncle John Lovett who is seeking to have his father's, grandfather's and uncles service recognised and a recognition by the state that those men were not given the same recognition as other service men and women on their return from military duty.



What must be remembered in talking about compensation claims for previous wrongs, and I think it's something that is rarely thought about when determining the amount of compensation to award, is that when you do not allow people to take advantage of a wage or benefit you not only discriminate against that person at the point in time, but you also impact on the economic and social condition of the next generations.

Benefits (like privilege) advantage the present, AND the future.
Likewise denying benefits to a whole generation disadvantages present and future generations.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective - online resources

I posted recently three conceptualisations of ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective. This post provides a number of useful online resources based on these ideas.

The War of Colonisation
The war of colonisation has not been recognised as a "war" despite the devastation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and cultures.

Some useful resources: 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were diggers too
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women have given their lives in every official military operation since Federation.

Some useful resources:
Social Media resources
Leesa Watego

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Exploring ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective

[Note: This post contains images, words and works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are now deceased]


 

We can understand ANZAC Day in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in a number of different ways. Here are three ways of conceptualising Indigenous responses -

1) Challenge the authority of ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day as a commemoration remembers the sacrifices of Australian men and women in Australian wars since World War 1. It is a recognition of those who "wore a uniform" in official battles. From an Indigenous perspective, this day is flawed as it fails to acknowledge the thousands of Australians - men, women and children - who fought and lost their lives in the War that was/is Colonisation. The above National Gallery of Australia exhibition created in 1988 is a recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died since colonisation.

2) There were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers too
This perspective acknowledges ANZAC Day but recognises that there have been Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers in every Australian conflict since Federation. These men and women fought proudly beside their comrades. That there has been little acknowledgement of the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers is linked to the third concept.

3) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers were treated as second-class citizens
This perspective is about a recognition that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers, despite their sacrifice and contribution in wars overseas, were treated as second-class citizens when they returned home. When they returned home they were subject to the same individual and systemic racism from White individuals and institutions as they were when they left.

William Cooper, Secretary of the Australian Aborigines’ League, argued in 1939
that Aborigines should not fight for White Australia. Cooper had lost his son in the First World War and was bitter that Aboriginal sacrifice had not brought any improvement in rights and conditions. He likened conditions in White-administered Aboriginal settlements to those suffered by Jews under Hitler. Cooper demanded improvements at home before taking up "‘the privilege of defending the land which was taken from him by the White race without compensation or even kindness'. Quote source
There are multiple ways of conceptualising ANZAC Day, these are just three. The key is to be considerate and understanding of these different perspectives (and the many others you will encounter) as you approach your investigations of this annual event.

Leesa Watego



Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Top ten Indigenous resources for business studies


There has been a lot of emphasis over the last decade on the creation of vocational and educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and rightly so. Emphasis on inspiring and increasing access to career opportunities definitely plays a part in redressing inequity. Programmes to date have tended to focus on increasimg Indigenous students participation in apprenticeships & trades, ín sport, in education, health, the arts and law.

One area that is not discussed at great length as an option for Indigenous students is business and commerce. This may be as as a result of few visible Indigenous role models in the business arena. Lucky for young people today however, there are quite a few business role models out there.

Here are our top ten (so far) -

1) Aboriginal Business Magazine is published by Willmett Group in Brisbane. Coming out each month, it is a very reasonably price, well designed publication featuring a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in business.

2) Indigenous Business Council of Australia (IBCA) is a national body seeking to represent the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in business.

3) Mandurah Hunter Indigenous Chamber was the first Australian Indigenous chamber of commerce. It supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business people in the Hunter region.

5) South East Queensland Indigenous Chamber of Commerce was established five years ago to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business people in South East Queensland.

6) Victorian Indigenous Business Directory by the Koori Business Network is a directory of over 100 businesses and organisations in Victoria.

7) Yulkuum Jerrang, Victorian Indigenous Economic Development Conference is a major annual conference held in Melbourne each year for the past three years. Speakers and participants from all around Australia attend.

8) Kinaway Victorian Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce is an active chamber of commerce based in Victoria.

9) Aboriginal Enterprises in Mining, Exploration and Energy Ltd (AEMEE) is a not-for-profit organisations created to support Indigenous businesses in mining and allied industries.

10) Inguides is an independent classifieds and directory created by Cairns based media company Blackvine Media for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, organisations and events.

I look forward to writing a second top ten list of business resources and organisations over the next month.

Leesa Watego

Some Aboriginal People Are More Aboriginal Than Others

Last September (2011) I attended the annual Oodgeroo Noonuccal public lecture at QUT by scholar Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson. Her lecture was titled Race Matters: Representations of Aboriginality in the Media. In it she explored the racialised history of private media in Australia, particularly it's coverage of Aboriginal Peoples and 'issues'. It was a very timely lecture given the judgement of the Pat Eatcock v Andrew Bolt case due at the time.

Last night fellow edu-tweet Luke Pearson sent out the a link to a shortened version of that paper given at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney (October) for the panel session: Some Aboriginal People Are More Aboriginal Than Others. The description for this session:
White Australia has always had a view on what makes a 'real' Aboriginal person. Andrew Bolt is the merely the latest in a long line of commentators who have put forward their views about 'black' and 'white' Aboriginals. Spread across a continent after 200 years of colonisation, Aboriginal people are diverse in a way that is at odds with media stereotypes of 'traditional' Aboriginal people living in troubled remote communities. At a crucial time for recognition and reconciliation, does 'white' or 'black' matter? Who speaks for Aboriginal people and defines who they are? 
Also on the panel was Associate Professor Bronwyn Fredericks who powerfully explored the politics of naming and identity.

When watching the lectures, take time to consider your (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) understanding of identity within Australia. Consider the ways in which you and those around you use language to define others according to criteria you decide. What is the impact of that on other people and the way they're represented?

Image below from someone on Twitter late 2011 during the post-Bolt flurry. You need to watch the video to understand the relevance of the slide below.
Leesa Watego

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Gathering information and curating the past - some ideas and challenges

Historically, many east-coast Australian communities have paid little attention to the cultural history of their places. Most communities proudly display plaques to their war dead, the young men and women from families that marched and died on battle grounds in Europe, the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Occasionally there are plaques to explorer and settler families, but quite often these are held in the naming of places, streets, parks, mountains, and hills.

Generally there is little recognition of the people who walked and lived the land we now know of as Australia, since time immemorial.

Gathering and then curating this knowledge and information to suit classroom purposes is our modern day challenge. Quite often information is held within individual families, but mostly it's in the archives, in old newspapers, explorer/settler diaries and/or historical books that are out of print. Some of this information is on the web, but most is on shelves.

The community I live in, Everton Park in the north-west suburbs of Brisbane, is one such place. Over the past few years I have slowly cobbled together some information in my spare time.

My first effort at compiling information in a way that was presentable was using Google Maps. I was inspired by Stilgherrian's 50-50 project.  Using a word list from Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of early Queensland, I used place markers to mark the Aboriginal names of places throughout Brisbane. My next effort was in creating a Picasa/Google album of Aboriginal Place Names. Unfortunately, life has got in the way of my extra-curricula activity and I've not progressed as far as I'd like - still so many places still to add.

This is one of the on-going barriers to the challenge of curating information for a specific purpose - time, energy and focus. The other key challenge comes in making sure that any texts (in the form of maps, albums, podcasts or books) is done in a way that is appropriate to the memory of Aboriginal peoples of the past as well as respectful of Peoples that live in communities today.


A recent query from a teacher at the local primary school has prompted me to compile what I have so far here in a  a public Google document . I suspect that much of this information would work well and be useable in a blog format - perhaps I'll leave that one for an empty weekend.

What tools have you used to gather and present information about your community? What are some of the barriers or challenges you have faced?

Cheers, Leesa

Update - I'm not certain if the Map link is working. I'm going to try to embed the map below to see if this works.


View Aboriginal Place Names of Brisbane in a larger map


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Blak History Month Poster

Last week I ordered a poster created by Aboriginal artist Sam Cook from Redbubble.

Australian Blak History Month is a very grassroots celebration of history, people, events, stories from a Blak perspective. I have written about it elsewhere on this blog, and there is a link also to my Blak History Month website which has a range of free resources.

I highly recommend all schools purchase this poster. Not only does it look DEADLY, supports an Aboriginal artist, but it will resonate with your students and their families when they see it hanging in your school and classroom.

The poster I chose is print mounted on a matte board. I chose the white matte board. There are different options of purchasing with RedBubble including already framed prints.

You can see all Sam's artwork at www.redbubble.com/people/kissmyblakarts.

Leesa Watego

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Thinking the 26th of January

For many people the 26th of January is a day of celebration, while for others, it is a day of sorrow or mourning. We have created a series of lessons designed to assist teachers to create activities that are inclusive and respects the beliefs of their students. The document is created as a Google Doc and is accessible via this link.

You will need this Google Presentation - Stimulus Texts for the 26th of January. I will be adding to this presentation over time.




More posts on this topic:
Any difficulties downloading, contact me: lwatego [ @ ] gmail.com

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Deadly Ways - Democracy & Politics

Here is the first of the Deadly Ways presentations. It currently sits at 5 Deadly Ways to Explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives of democracy, politics and civics in your classroom, but will definitely grow in the coming months.

I did want to note that Annabel Crabb, political commentator and journalist, made an important point on the 1st day of the opening of the 43rd Parliament. On the Drum on the ABC, her and Chris Uhlman were discussing the recent changes to the opening procedures where from now on a Welcome to Country would happen and also changes to the Standing Orders which now instruct the speaker at the start of every sitting of Parliament an Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners must happen. Annabel Crabb while noting that this was a significant step forward, it was still a 'step' that was 'given' by the Parliament (and one that could be taken away).


Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Letters Patent: A legal studies case study to keep watch

The ABC reported today that 
The Ngarrindjeri people have been asked by the South Australian Government for a clearer idea of what they see as the legal consequences for SA from what is known as the Letters Patent of 1836.
Founding Docs stated that 
The Letters Patent used the enabling provisions of the South Australia Act 1834 to establish the Province of South Australia and precisely define its boundaries. They also went beyond the strict provision of the Act by including a significant guarantee of the rights of 'any Aboriginal Natives' or their descendants to lands they 'now actually occupied or enjoyed'.
ANTAR SA provides a number of links to this issue.

What does it mean? The consequences of this. Let's keep watching.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Free Resources from the Sydney Morning Herald

Popped into Our Lady of Mount Carmel school yesterday at Waterloo, Sydney and spied Part 1 of the Indigenous Australians Educational supplement from the Sydney Morning Herald. Looked pretty deadly too.

The Sydney Morning Herald have also provided a number of online resources for teachers. Click here to access them.

Have contacted SMH to see if they'll be digitising the supplements and making them available online for teachers in the future. Will let you know what happens.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying business?

Yes? Why not check out my other blog "On The Ground" which is business from an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspective. There are a number of entrepreneur profiles with links (a growing list). I've currently organised the site into:

9 CORE TOPICS
  1. Indigenous Business
  2. Being in Business
  3. Marketing
  4. Business Planning
  5. Copyright and Intellectual Property
  6. Law & Taxation
  7. Accounting & Finance
  8. The Creative Business
  9. Society and the Economy
There are then numerous sub-topics including social media, having fun in business, pricing, innovation.

The blog is accompanised by the wiki - artist-as-entrepreneur (which is on wiki spaces) which is a second semester course I teach to Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art students at Queensland College of Art - Griffith University, Brisbane.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Vernon Ah Kee - Education Resource


This teacher's education resource was produced by the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane to accompany the touring visual arts exhibition, cantchant by Aboriginal artist Vernon Ah Kee.

cantchant was also part of the Once Removed exhibition at the Venice Bienale in 2009.

You can download a copy of the teacher's education resource here.

Special Days Calendar - March events now added

New Events added for Feb/March -
24 February 2010 - Putsch by proppaNOW Aboriginal Artist's Collective
Their first group exhibition outside of Queensland and as part of the Adelaide Festival, Putsch opened on February 24th 2010 at Tandanya Cultural Centre.
16 March 1995 - The High Court decides against Western Australia's constitutional challenge to the Commonwealth Native Title Act in Western Australia v Commonwealth [1995]
The Native Title Tribunal provides a range of resources about Native Title Law, determinations and issues.
20 March 1969 - The Aboriginal Welfare Board abolished
This website contains detailed history of Aboriginal affairs in New South Wales.
22nd March 2003 - Linda Burney, first Aboriginal woman elected to New South Wales State Parliament.
Linda Burney was elected on the 22nd March 2003, and has since been promoted to various ministerial positions.
28th March 1922 - Neville Bonner, the first Aboriginal person elected to Federal Parliament is born
Neville Bonner was born on Ukerabagh Island on the Tweed River. He was elected to the Senate in 1971. He passed away in 1999.
29 March 1984 - Charles Perkins is appointed Head of the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs


29 March 1995 - ATSIC (Indigenous Land Funds) Amendement Act passed.
This amendment created the Indigenous Land Corporation.
30 March 1962 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Qld, NT and NSW are given the right to vote at Federal elections.
The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 (Cth) denied Aboriginal people the right to vote unless they were covered under s41 (allows for those who are already enrolled in State electoral rolls). The Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended in 1962 to allow Aboriginal people to vote if they wished (though it was not compulsory).
NB: This is a Google Calendar that we've created as a public calendar. We're uploading events month-by-month. If you know of any other events that we don't have and you would like to include, please send us an email. You can embed this calendar into your own website/blog by clicking here:
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=c0uruhv7tm38vof0n2ib73jta0%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Australia/Brisbane

(Originally posted on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 03/02/2010)

Map of Aboriginal Australia

The Map of Aboriginal Australia was developed by Dr David Horton and the Australian Institute of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) in 1994.


I believe that AIATSIS and Dr Horton own the copyright for the map. We recommend that each classroom should have a copy always available for their students.


You can purchase the Map of Aboriginal Australia (affiliate link) here.


However, if you want to use the map in your presentations and in particular, student presentations, you can download -
  • a jpeg (right click & save image as)
(Please note: these sites are external to Blacklines and AIATSIS and may not have copyright permission to make the map available).
(Originally posted on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 02/07/10)

Update 2 February 2011 - I have signed up as an Affiliate with Fishpond.com.au, an Australian online retailer of books, dvds and other products. I receive a small commission on each sale generated from my recommendation. 

Indigenous special days calendar

A new resource for teachers - A calendar of special days for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Australians. I've created it as a Google Calendar so everyone can access it. I'll be uploading a month at a time at this stage.



Here is a run down of February events in the calendar (with some links). I've not included wikipedia links in this post.
6 February 1976 - Pat O'Shane becomes first Aboriginal barrister in New South Wales.

An image of Pat O'Shane with information about her early career.

8 February 1868 - Aboriginal Cricket Team leaves Sydney for England.

An image of the team from 1868 is held in National Museum of Australia.

8 February 1939 - Cummerangunja Walk Off

Mission Voices is a website that contains information, resources and timelines about the history of missions and reserves in Victoria, including Cummerangunja Walk Off.

12 February 1965 - Freedom rides begin with Charles Perkins.

The Freedom Rides were designed to protest as well as draw attention to racism and discrimination in New South Wales communities.

13 February 2010 - First Indigenous All Stars "Dreamteam" Rugby League Game

Most Murris & Kooris will be watching this one!

27 February 1968 - Lionel Rose defeats Fighting Harada

Lionel Rose defeated Fighting Harada in Japan to win the WBC bantamweight title and the WBA World bantamweight title.

28 February 1995 Aboriginal Embassy included on register of the National Estate

Links from Australian Heritage Database about the Tent Embassy

* Notes on this calendar - I've found its easy to access information about the YEAR events happened, but not the actual DAYS/DATES. I'll slowly add to this calendar as I find more information & evidence of the actual dates. Look forward to any feedback & additions people can add!

(Originally posted on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 01/23/10)

Time to celebrate what's great?

I heard my first Australia Day ad for 2010 on the radio on Christmas Day (the australiaday.org mob are at it again!).

Just as we start gearing up for the Back to School sales, we're also going to be bombarded with Australia Day advertising - telling us how to be better Aussies & to be proud. Always problematic this one.





Well, Blacklines is going set ourselves a challenge and create some resources that are true to our beliefs, as well as fun for students and useful for teachers. Alot of thinking is going into this one - let's see how we go.

(Originally published on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 12/30/2010)
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