The information and resources in this guide help teachers and educators embed important ideas around reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions in civics and citizenship subjects.
This guide is not prescriptive or exhaustive. You should consult your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and always critically evaluate resources when using this guide.
Introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship
“Leadership in an Aboriginal cultural context is not given or measured by how much media you get or if you earn big money. True Aboriginal leadership does not come from high-level appointments or board membership. It doesn’t come from and cannot be given by white constructs. Leadership is earned; it is given when you have proven you can deal with responsibility and you understand that responsibility.”
The Honourable Linda Burney MP (first Aboriginal politician to be elected to the NSW Parliament)
Background and Timeline of key dates in the contemporary history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship
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Background to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship
It is important to appreciate that, for tens of thousands of years prior to colonisation and Federation, the continent of ‘Australia’ was made up of many hundreds of distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander geo-cultural nations. In fact, according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, the terms ‘Country’ and ‘Nation’ are generally used to refer to these distinct geo-cultural communities, and not to the whole Australian continent or citizenship group. As the quote from the Hon Linda Burney above suggests, the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander geo-cultural communities and identities cannot be fully accommodated by non-Indigenous civics and citizenship constructs. Instead, this diversity is mirrored by customary protocols and laws, governance structures/systems, conceptualisations of ‘leadership’, and traditional languages to explain or express such perspectives and practices. These unique structures, systems and semantics have been informed by, and intricately intersect with, the physical Country on which living and learning takes place, and the Dreaming narratives and knowledges that are tied to it.
Representing the oldest continuing cultures on the planet, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander conventions and conceptualisations regarding civics and citizenship are still very much alive and active. It is important to appreciate the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures, particularly in the context of colonial threats to sovereignty, self-determination and fair civil participation more generally. Consider, for example, that colonial powers did not provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the right to vote, or indeed be counted as citizens in the census, until well into the 20th century. Conversations around adequate recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures – past and present – continue to this day, pushing for Australia’s First Peoples and cultures to be better valued as an essential part of our national identity.
The example resources listed throughout the remainder of this guide may help to provide a positive platform for meaningful conversation and action around the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions to civics and citizenship in your classroom, and across Australia.
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Timeline of Key Dates in the Contemporary History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship
This timeline chronologically lists some of the key dates in the more recent history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civics and citizenship, and in regard to the relationship between civics and citizenship and reconciliation more generally.
60,000+ years ago
- The continent of ‘Australia’ comprises many hundreds of distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander geo-cultural nations, each with longstanding conventions and conceptualisations about civics and citizenship.
1932
- William Cooper establishes the Australian Aborigines’ League. During the 1930s, Mr Cooper and leaders of the Aborigines Progressive Association gathers 1814 signatures on a petition calling on Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and King George VI to intervene ‘for the preservation of our race from extinction and to grant representation to our race in the Federal Parliament’.
1948
- The Commonwealth Nationality and Citizenship Act applies the category of ‘Australian Citizenship’ to all Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, for the first time. However, at state government level, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still suffer legal discrimination.
1962
- The Commonwealth Electoral Act is amended to give the vote to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at Federal elections.
1965
- University of Sydney students, including Charlie Perkins, launch the Freedom Rides, travelling around NSW by bus to draw attention to discrimination against Aboriginal people and to promote stronger recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civil rights.
1967
- On 27 May, more than 90 per cent of Australians vote ‘yes’ in a referendum to give the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the census.
1971
- Neville Bonner becomes the first Aboriginal parliamentarian following his election as senator for Queensland.
1972
- In January, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is pitched outside Parliament House in Canberra, campaigning for the recognition of Aboriginal land rights.
1975
- The Australian Parliament passes the Racial Discrimination Act to help to ensure that Australians of all backgrounds are treated equally and receive the same opportunities.
1976
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Patricia (Pat) O’Shane becomes Australia’s first Aboriginal barrister. Over the course of her lifetime, O’Shane has not only been recognised as Australia’s first Aboriginal Barrister but also the first Aboriginal female teacher in Queensland, the first Aboriginal person in the country to graduate in law, the first Aboriginal magistrate for the NSW Local Court and the first woman to head a government department.
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The Australian Parliament passes the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), leading to the establishment of land rights legislation in most Australian states in the 1970s and 1980s.
1988
- The Barunga Statement, calling for self-management and land rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is presented to Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who indicates his support for a treaty.
1991
- The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is established.
1992
- The High Court recognises native title in the landmark Mabo and others v Queensland (No.2) (1992) case, busting the legal fiction of terra nullius.
- Prime Minister Paul Keating delivers the Redfern Speech, recognising the history of dispossession, violence and forced removal of Aboriginal children.
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner position is created, with Professor Mick Dodson AM appointed to the position.
1993
- The United Nations declares 1993 the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People.
- The Australian Parliament passes the Native Title Act.
1995
- The Australian Government officially recognises the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
1998
- National Sorry Day is commemorated for the first time on May 26.
2000
- The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation delivers its final report to Prime Minister John Howard and the Australian Parliament at Corroboree 2000, leading to the set-up of Reconciliation Australia as an independent, not-for-profit organisation.
2004
- The Commonwealth Government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place
in Canberra.
2005
- National Reconciliation Planning Workshop is held; attended by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition
2006
- The Close the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality is developed following the release of the Social Justice Report 2005.
2008
- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologises to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian Parliament.
2009
- Australia supports the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Previously, Australia had been one of only four nations to oppose the Declaration.)
2010
- The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples is established.
2011
- The Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples leads wide-ranging public consultations, before delivering its findings in January 2012.
2012
- The RECOGNISE campaign – to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution and deal with the racial discrimination in it – begins.
2013
- The Australian Parliament passes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 to maintain momentum towards a referendum.
2015
- The Referendum Council is established.
2017
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First Nation Regional Dialogues are held across the country between 2016 and May 2017 to discuss constitutional recognition with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Referendum Council organises for the priorities from each of the First Nations Dialogues to be reported to a First Nations Convention at Uluru. Out of this Convention comes the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
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Teenager and Gumbaynggirr woman Aretha Brown is chosen by 60 peers as the first female Aboriginal Youth Prime Minister of Australia at the National Youth Parliament in Canberra.
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Australia’s peak union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, establishes the First Nations Workers’ Alliance (FNWA).
2018
- The ACT government has become the first jurisdiction in the country to recognise Reconciliation Day as a public holiday. The public holiday will be held each year on the first Monday on or after the 1967 Referendum anniversary date of 27 May, the start of Reconciliation Week.
2019
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The Coalition of Peaks enters a historic formal partnership agreement on Closing the Gap with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
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Mick Dodson starts as the inaugural NT treaty commissioner. He will lead treaty negotiations between Aboriginal people and the NT government and present a final report within 2.5 years.
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A class action Hans Pearson took to the federal court in September 2016 on behalf of an estimated 10,000 Aboriginal workers in Queensland who had their wages stolen last century is settled with the state government for $190m.
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Dujuan, a 12-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy from central Australia, speaks at the UN Human Rights Council demanding the Australian government to stop sending 10-year-old children to prison and support Aboriginal-led education models.
2020
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For the first time in Queensland’s history, three Aboriginal MP’s hold seats in the state's Parliament: Member for Bundamba, Gubbi Gubbi man Lance McCallum, Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch and backbencher Cynthia Lui.
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Triggered by the death of George Floyd in the United States, tens of thousands of people join Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests across Australia to protest the deaths of Aboriginal people in police custody.
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Victorian Greens members elect Gunnai-Kurnai/Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe as the new (and first Aboriginal) Greens senator for Victoria. Thorpe is an Aboriginal leader and activist and was previously the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Victorian parliament.
2021
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Exactly four years after it was released, the Uluru Statement from the Heart is awarded the Sydney peace prize for 2021.
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Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt releases the Indigenous Voice Co-design Process Final Report and announces the next steps to establish Local & Regional Voices.
2022
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The government pays more than $20m to obtain the copyright to the Aboriginal flag and terminate commercial licenses owned by companies which had limited the reproduction of the symbol. Now all Australians can freely display and use the flag.
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Linda Burney announced as Indigenous Affairs Minister, the first Aboriginal woman to hold this position.
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In a landmark decision, the UN Human Rights Committee finds that the Australian government has violated its human rights obligations to Torres Strait Islander people by not acting on climate change.
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The Referendum Working Group and the Referendum Engagement Group hold their first meetings in Canberra. The groups will work with the government on the next steps to a referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution.
2023
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The referendum question and constitutional amendment were announced by the Prime Minister on 23 March 2023 and were settled following consultation with the First Nations Referendum Working Group. The referendum question and constitutional amendment were set out in the Constitutional Alteration Bill that was passed by both Houses of Parliament on 19 June 2023.
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On October 14 Australia voted to change Australia’s constitution for the first time in nearly half a century. Results showed the campaign was unsuccessful to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the country’s constitution. Immediately following the results, First Nations leaders called for A Week of Silence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags flown half-mast to grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance. At the conclusion of this period an open letter shared collective insights and views with the Australian public and media.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship resources
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Curriculum-aligned resources
Below are examples of produced or published Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship–related resources that can meaningfully contribute to contemporary classroom learning, and to the field of Civics and Citizenship in Australia as a whole.
Listed below are a number of videos and resources that may have been created to be specifically aligned with the Civics and Citizenship curriculum, or are aligned to civics and citizenship concepts and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority.
ABC videos
ABC Splash – Aunty Dorrie and the ‘dog licence’
ABC Splash – Australia’s 1967 referendum
ABC Splash – Australia’s first Aboriginal member of parliament
ABC Splash – Calls for recognition of Indigenous Australians
ABC Splash – Charles Perkins campaigns for Aboriginal rights
ABC Splash – Indigenous Australian activism in 1974
ABC Splash – National Sorry Day
ABC Splash – Native Title: 200 years in the making
ABC Splash – Native Title begins with an act of recognition
ABC Splash – Remembering the Freedom Ride
ABC Splash – The history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
ABC Splash – What’s Australia Day all about?
Behind the News – Aboriginal Anzacs
Behind the News – Closing communities
Behind the News – Constitution
Behind the News – Discrimination
Behind the News – Freedom Ride
Behind the News – Government Apology
Behind the News – Voice to Parliament
Behind the News – Native Title
Behind the News – Calling Out Racism
Behind the News – Stolen Generations
80 Days that changed our lives – Paul Keating’s Redfern Address
SBS resources
First Australians (see, in particular, the ‘250 Nations’ clip)
Reconciliation Australia short films
Indigenous Governance Awards films
Australian Screen/National Film and Sound Archive videos
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES, RIGHTS, AND FLAGS
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary laws and traditional governance structures/systems
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Australian Indigenous Governance Institute – Indigenous Governance Toolkit: 4.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership
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Australian Law Reform Commission – Indigenous Customary Law and speech by Tom Calma (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner)
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National Film and Sound Archive – Screen Australia Digital Learning: Indigenous customary law
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New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council – What makes an Elder?
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Reconciliation Australia – Share our pride: our culture (and see corresponding Customary law text).
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University of Sydney – Kinship module
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistic/geo-cultural maps
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistic/geo-cultural maps are of interest to Civics and Citizenship because they conceptualise what represents a ‘nation,’ and show the diversity of individual and shared identities within and across nations. The SBS/NITV article ‘Do you know what Aboriginal Land you’re on today?’ helps to express why it is important to ensure that ‘no matter what you’re doing in Australia today … know that it’s on Aboriginal Land … and what Aboriginal Land.’ Listed below are examples of cartographic representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistic/geo-cultural communities. Note that each map is just one representation of the many other map sources that are available. They indicate only the general location of larger groupings of linguistic-cultural communities, which may include distinct languages within a wider language family, as well as various dialects of a distinct language. Boundaries are not intended to be exact.
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Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – Map of Indigenous Australia
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First Languages Australia – Gambay map (with accompanying Teachers’ notes).
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Research Unit for Indigenous Language – 50 words project online map
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National Library of Australia – Tribal boundaries in Aboriginal Australia l Norman B. Tindale
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State Library of New South Wales – rediscovering indigenous languages: community map
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State Library of Queensland – Indigenous languages map of Queensland
You may also consider contacting your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Council or Language and Culture Centre to seek information and resources around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistic/geo-cultural maps or mapping.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples builds on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to affirm that Indigenous peoples, including Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are no less equal to all other peoples. It recognises the rights of all peoples to be different and to be respected as such. The two declarations are co-constructive frameworks that sanction the importance of equality and equity, and humanity and diversity. Some rights-based classroom resources include the following:
Australian Human Rights Commission – Building belonging: A toolkit for early childhood educators on cultural diversity and responding to prejudice
Australian Human Rights Commission – Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Australian Human Rights Commission – Human rights in the school classroom
Australian Human Rights Commission – Racial discrimination? Know your rights video
Australian Human Rights Commission – Tackling racism in Australia: A unit of work for the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, Years 9 and 10
Australian Human Rights Commission – Take a stand against racism: A unit of work for the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, Years 5 and 6
Australian Human Rights Commission – The globalising world: Changing policies and Australian identity: A unit of work for the Australian Curriculum: History, Year 10
Australian Human Rights Commission – UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples video
Australian Human Rights Commission – What you say matters. Racism. It stops with me. Feat. Brothablack video
Beyond Blue – The invisible discriminator: create change at your school
Calgary Anti-Racism Education – Resources
Education Services Australia – Racism and human rights
NSW Department of Education and Communities – Racism. No way: anti-racism education for Australian schools
Reconciliation Australia – Let’s talk … land rights
Southern Poverty Law Center – Learning for Justice
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags
Flags are of interest to Geography, given their frequent ties to nation-building. Flags symbolically represent a people and that group of people’s relationship with their country or place. Listed below are a number of useful resources around the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.
Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – Australian flags
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – Aboriginal flag
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – Torres Strait Islander flag
The Guardian/Josh Butler - Australian government copyright deal
Queensland Health – Guidelines for flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags
Reconciliation Australia – Anita Heiss talks reconciliation (see final paragraph in particular)
Reconciliation Australia – Q and A – Flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags
SBS – 10 things you might not know about the Aboriginal Flag
SBS – 10 things you might not know about the Torres Strait Islander flag
Torres Strait Regional Council (copyright owner of the Torres Strait Islander flag)
Sydney Morning Herald/Patrick Dodson – Aboriginal flag a symbol of reconciliation
See the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags RAP Action for more information and ideas.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander politics
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Key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Political Representative Groups
Listed below are examples of key bodies or groups that have played, or continue to play, a key role in the political representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens at the national level. Some of these political representative groups may not be exclusively Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governed, but may involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous collaborations.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commission
Aborigines Progressive Association
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (now Reconciliation Australia)
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
National Indigenous Youth Parliament
While the examples above include key representative bodies catering to broad-reaching political interests and needs, you may also be interested in researching industry-specific national representative bodies. To give just a couple of examples, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Alliance (NACCHO) acts as a national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, while the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) serves as a national non-government peak body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
As well as considering national-scale political/representative bodies, you may further be interested in researching representative groups at state, territory or local level. Examples may include Land Councils1, Elders Councils, Aboriginal Corporations or Elected Bodies.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander politicians/members of parliament
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander political campaigns, protests and petitions
Listed below are examples of key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander political campaigns, protests and petitions, past or present. These campaigns are, or have been, either driven by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, or by a positive push to improve the rights of, and respect for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.
Barunga Statement – Two paintings and text calling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights presented to Prime Minister Bob Hawke at the 1988 Barunga Festival, an annual community sporting and cultural event. Now known as the Barunga Statement, these paintings and text prompted Bob Hawke to indicate his support for a treaty in his speech.
Change the Date – The campaign to change the date of Australia Day celebrations to one other than January 26. On 26 January 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and raised the British flag for the first time in Sydney Cove. For many, it isn’t a day for celebration, but a reminder of a day on which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of life were changed forever. For some, it is known as Survival Day or Invasion Day and is a celebration of the survival of people and culture, and the continuing contributions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to Australia. However, the Change the Date campaign argues that these celebrations could most appropriately take place on a different date.
Close the Gap – Driven by the Close the Gap Coalition – a grouping of non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and community organisations – together with approximately 200,000 Australians. The campaign is calling on governments to take real, measurable action to achieve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health equality by 2030.
Family Matters – ‘Family Matters: Strong Communities. Strong Culture. Stronger Children’ is Australia’s national campaign to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe and cared for in family, community and culture. Family Matters aims to eliminate the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2040.
Freedom Ride – A 1965 movement involving University of Sydney students, including Charlie Perkins, travelling around NSW by bus to draw attention to discrimination against Aboriginal people and to promote stronger recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civil rights.
Racism. It Stops with Me – A national campaign to ensure more Australians recognise that racism is unacceptable in our community; give more Australians tools and resources to take practical action against racism; and empower individuals and organisations to prevent and respond effectively to racism.
RECOGNISE – The movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution and ensure there’s no place in it for racial discrimination. In 2017, the RECOGNISE campaign came to a close, following the release of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Reconciliation Australia, RECOGNISE’s parent organisation, will be taking responsibility for the work of the campaign into the future.
Redfern Statement – Launched on 9 June 2016, during the federal election campaign, the Redfern Statement comprehensively set out Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expectations and priorities for engagement and progress by Australian Governments. On 14 February 2017, co-chair of the National Congress for Australia’s First Peoples, Jackie Huggins, handed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a coolamon holding the Redfern Statement, calling for Australian governments to listen and genuinely engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Tent Embassy – First pitched outside Parliament House in 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was erected to campaign for the recognition of Aboriginal land rights.
Wave Hill Walk-Off – Led by Gurindji stockman Vincent Lingiari, this protest movement saw Aboriginal stockmen at the Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory walk off the job on 23 August 1966 as they were not paid equally to their non-Indigenous counterparts. While the walk-off was initially focused on working conditions and equal pay, it soon become about broader land rights and was the precursor to the first land rights legislation in Australia.
Yirrkala Bark Petitions – Presented by Yolgnu leaders to the Australian Parliament in 1963, the Yirrkala Bark Petitions protested against the seizure of more than 300 square kilometres of land in Arnhem Land for mining. These petitions represent the first traditional documents recognised by the Commonwealth Parliament and are thus documentary recognition of Aboriginal laws of the land, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian law.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civics and citizenship celebrations/commemorations
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander celebratory or commemorative events
Throughout the year, there are dedicated days and weeks that are significant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, for the field of civics and citizenship, and indeed for all Australian citizens committed to the reconciliation movement. Listed below are some examples of such celebratory or commemorative events, both past and present.
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Anniversary of the National Apology (13 February)
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Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum (27 May)
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Anzac Day (25 April)
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Coming of the Light festival (1 July)
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Deadly Awards (‘The Deadlys’) – Marcia Langton Lifetime Award for Leadership
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Harmony Day (21 March) Originally known as United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Note, this is sometimes celebrated as Harmony Week which while having connections to the unity dimension of reconciliation doesn’t link to the race relations dimension of reconciliation.
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Indigenous Governance Awards (biennial)
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International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August)
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January 26 (keeping in mind the current Change the Date campaign)
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Mabo Day (3 June)
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NAIDOC Week (July)
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National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (4 August)
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National Close the Gap Day (March)
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National Reconciliation Week (27 May–3 June)
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National Sorry Day (26 May)
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Other online guides and reference materials
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Other online guides and reference materials
Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (2017) Indigenous governance toolkit.
Australian Institute of Family Studies (1995) ‘Customary law and family law’, Family matters 42:24–29.
Conference of Education Systems Chief Executive Officers (2000) Racism. No way! A guide for Australian schools.
National Trust of Australia (2012) ‘We’re a Dreaming Country’: Guidelines for interpretation of Aboriginal heritage.
NSW Department of Education – Anti-racism education: Advice for schools.
VicHealth (2013) Localities embracing and accepting diversity (LEAD).
VicHealth (2009) Review of strategies and resources to address race-based discrimination and support diversity in schools.
Tasmanian Government (2018) The Orb: Living cultures.
Reflective questions for Civics and Citizenship staff and students
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Reflective questions for Civics and Citizenship staff and students
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How might your school or early learning center contribute to the celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens, civics and citizenship?
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How can embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories into the study and practice of Civics and Citizenship help to foster reconciliation?
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Choose to research an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Elder, community leader, member of parliament or inspiring everyday citizen. What is the importance of his or her contributions to civics and citizenship on either a local or (inter)national scale?
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How have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories influenced Australian civics and citizenship, and what active role do these cultures and histories play today?
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What is the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Civics and Citizenship and other subject/learning areas? Why is this relationship important to appreciate?
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What is the relationship between the five dimensions of reconciliation – historical acceptance, race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, and unity – and civics and citizenship principles, policies and practices? How could these relationships be strengthened?
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Research some of the key governance or legal principles, policies and practices since colonisation in Australia – either at the state/territory, Federal or international level. What is their relationship to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary laws, governance structures/systems and conceptualisations of ‘leadership’? How could these relationships be strengthened?
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Where possible, organise an excursion to a public Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civics and citizenship–related organisation or event. What learnings and messages did you take away from your excursion? Were there any collaborations between this Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and non-Indigenous organisations, or can you think of any potential positive avenues for collaboration?
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When embedding important ideas in civics and citizenship around reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions, teachers and educators can use the Australian Curriculum support resource Civic and Citizenship - Examples of Knowledge and Skills. This resource is designed for use alongside the Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship.