PDF (Whole Thesis) - USQ ePrints - University of Southern ...

Source 7.18. “Pitjantjatjara Family Structure” diagram from Living History (Gurry,
1987, p. 123)
In identifying family structures, the textbook is careful to point out “...not all Aboriginal
groups had the same family structure as this one [Pitjantjatjara], they all have family
groupings which are more complex than a normal European nuclear family structure” (Gurry,
1987, p. 123); thus highlighting the complexities and differences in Indigenous cultures—and
reinforcing to students that Indigenous tribes do not belong to a monoculture, but are
distinctly polycultural across the Australian continent.
Living History then proceeds to explain to students, through the use of a narrative taken from
anthropologist Richard Gould’s observation of the Yiwara tribe, how the family structure and
accompanying “special obligations” (Gurry, 1987, p. 123) play out in everyday life. Through
the narrative of hunting and food sharing, the textbook describes the complex web of rules
governing hunting and food sharing, as seen in Source 7.19.
315