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Kinship and moiety structures common in Indigenous Australian family groupings are
investigated in-depth in Unit 3: Decision-makers of Australia in Primary Social Studies
sourcebook year 5 (Department of Education, 1988a). As the introductory topic to the unit
that covers government decision making, this topic provides students with an awarenessraising
topic pertinent to Indigenous Australian families. Recognising the complexities of
kinship, the sourcebook provides the following note to teachers: “This is a very simple
explanation of Aboriginal kinship groupings. The purpose of the activity is to promote
children’s awareness of the existence of a kinship system rather than to provide a detailed
understanding of Aboriginal social structure” (Department of Education, 1988a, p. 100). A
similar explanatory note is provided further in the bridging topic regarding the moiety
structure. Kinship is included in the unit, justified as a way to demonstrate to students (in
particular, those without Indigenous Australian heritages) that there are legitimate structures
for decision making and social control outside of their own known ones. In particular, the
objective for students is stated as: “By drawing and interpreting kinship diagrams, children
should realise that the Aborigines had their own systems of social control” (Department of
Education, 1988a, p. 100). In particular for this unit of work, care is exercised to ensure that
students understand that different Indigenous communities have different kinship and moiety
structures, with the focus of this bridging topic on “…the kinship system in North-Eastern
Arnhem Land…” (Department of Education, 1988a, p. 100; see Source 7.16).
Source 7.16. Family structures extract from Primary Social Studies sourcebook year
5 (Department of Education, 1988a, p. 101).
The moiety structure, which has the potential to be a difficult and abstract concept for
students who have had no previous connection to this system to grasp, is demonstrated to
students through their participation in a practical activity (see Source 7.17).
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