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Source 7.53. Continuity of Indigenous people’s connection to the land extract from
Living history (Gurry, 1987, p. 108).
Throughout the unit, traditional knowledges are presented as superior to non-Indigenous
knowledges. Although not stated overtly, it is evident through phrasing which positions the
PhD student as needing to learn from the traditional custodians of the land, as seen in the
second paragraph Source 7.53. Therefore, in this unit, students see non-Indigenous
knowledges mitigated through Indigenous knowledges in a way that is not a common school
learning experience.
7.10.4 Discourses that foreground oral histories.
Activity B: Theories of Australian settlement in Primary Social Studies sourcebook year 5
(Department of Education, 1988a) introduces students to oral histories as a mode of learning.
Respect for Indigenous knowledges and cultures through oral history is limited as this is not
extended to content outside of that which is directly about histories of Indigenous
Australians, with only western knowledges presented for all other topics. So, whilst this can
be seen as the beginning of Indigenous knowledges within the core curriculum content, much
work needs to be achieved so that this extends beyond topics solely centred on Indigenous
Australians, enabling instead a transferability of knowledges that does not yet take place (see
Source 7.54). The main activity for students to engage with oral history as a legitimate
historical methodology is through learning how Indigenous Australians first came to
Australia.
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