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HELP DESK
Site Overview
"Indigenous Australiana" is a site that focuses on the Aboriginal
Adnyamathanha group of the South Australian Flinders Ranges. Through
the use of various media, this site aims to develop a wide variety
of skills and broader knowledge about the Australian Aboriginal
groups for people of all ages. We aim to develop a better understanding
of Australian Aboriginal culture, in particular Adnyamathanha beliefs
and culture, and to counter negative stereotypes. This site focuses
on the Dreaming stories of the Adnyamathanha people as well as their
environment, language, lifestyle, and visual arts. We will also
discuss the subject of reconciliation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous
Australians and the eight key issues involved. There is an extensive
activities section for teachers and students of primary and secondary
schooling. It covers language, art, cultural and extended learning
activities such as acrostic, image and word recognition, crosswords
with movable letters, scenes with moveable images, planning camp
sites, analysis of dreaming stories, critical thinking and source
analysis activities, and easy to access galleries of images and
icons so that students can create their own web pages.
This site is designed to be used in a variety of ways by teachers
and students. The site allows students to be self-directed or teacher
directed. Work sheets are available in the Activities section and
are divided into levels; primary school and secondary school. Students
may work as individuals in pairs or in groups.
Teacher Help
Australian Aborigines is the focus of the site. Teachers can
address the needs of their curriculum where the study and appreciation
of Indigenous Australians or Indigenous people are to be studied.
Through this site we present a wide variety of primary and secondary
sources, which encourage source analysis skills. The site encourages
the understanding of cultural processes, experiences and meanings.
The site attempts to provide the opportunity for students to become
exposed to other cultures and discusses proposed ideas with others
through the use of the class activities provided.
The sources play an important role in empathy and consequently
the understanding of the culture, values and experiences. Information
about the Adnymathanha group includes images of the landscape, their
art and artifacts.
The site encourages students to participate in reading and writing
analysis. Students are invited to visit the photo gallery and send
postcards and use the gallery of images and icons to create their
own web pages.
Navigation Bar and Footprints Pathway
The boomerang is the navigation bar and by rolling over the burnt
decorations of the boomerang users may view the topics with their
subtopic titles.
Topics that contain more than one page include feet at the bottom
of these pages. The number of feet indicates the number of pages
in this section. The highlighted foot indicates the page number
being viewed. These feet are also links to the relevant pages.
Educational Objectives
The educational objectives are to:
· encourage and foster analysis of ideas about the aboriginal culture
and experiences
· promote interest in other cultures
· utilise the source for teaching and learning in a variety of teaching
and learning areas
· promote indigenous Australian culture to a broad audience who
would otherwise not have access to this information
· raise awareness of the range of issues and concerns of indigenous
Australians and hence society.
Information About the Site
"Indigenous Australiana" is based on Aboriginal culture and experiences,
we focused on the Adnyamathanha group of the Flinders Ranges to
give a specific overview of one group in detail. We have incorporated
a variety of media to help the students reinforce their knowledge
of Australia and Aborigines. The site is divided into different
sections, as represented on the boomerang navigation bar, they are:
Perspective, the Land, Beliefs, Social Structure, Art, Lifestyle
and Activities. In each section footprints at the bottom of the
page direct the user to the next page of that section and give an
indication to the number of pages in the section.
The images include South Australian museum exhibitions from the
Adnyathanha group and real landscape, artefacts and art pictures
from actual Aboriginal sites. The Activities section includes work
sheets and curriculum for students, and the recommended educational
level eg. Upper Secondary, Middle or Primary. The Activities also
include interactive word recognition which enable students to learn
some Andymathanha vocabulary which gives them a feel for the culture
and language. An Adnyamathanha woman speaks the words. There are
crosswords and puzzles for the students to test their acquired knowledge
including self marking multiple choice tests, and there is a click-and-drag
interactive Animals of Australia page.
Student Help
This site was designed by students for students. It is for those
who are interested in other cultures or who would like to know more
about Aborigines in Australia. There are native Australiana images
which can be sent as postcards to your friends and fun activities
to do online. Share your ideas and comments through the message
board. Who are the Indigenous Australians? What are they concerned
about today?
The Information Desk is the page you just left. From the information
desk you can view the three different help pages (all aimed at a
different audience). The General Help (this page) gives an outline
of each section. The aim of this summary outline, is to give visitors
an idea of what our site contains and to help them decide which
section interests them the most.
The Teacher Help is aimed at teachers. It contains teacher worksheets
and assignments as well as ideas on how they can use this site to
its full potential in their lessons. The Student Help points out
the areas of interest for students as well as the places they can
go to learn about Indigenous Australians.
PERSPECTIVE
This section gives an overview of Aborigines in Australia. It covers
who is an Aborigine, what and where the Aboriginal groups are in
relation to geographical Australia and a brief history of Aborigines
in Australia, their origins and later their treatment by the Europeans.
This then brings us to the present day with plans of Reconciliation
and its 8 Key Issues.
LAND
Here we learn the basics of the Flinders Ranges, the land of the
Adnyamathanha people. This section covers the nature of the environment
such as its location, land forms, climate, water, vegetation, wildlife
and tourist attractions. We explore the unique bond between the
Aborigines and the land, their sacred sites and the impact of European
settlement.
BELIEFS
The Aboriginal belief system based on the Dreaming plays a crucial
role in their society. In this section we review relationship between
the dreaming and the individual and the land. Dreaming stories are
included to allow students to gain a feel of the nature of their
belief system.
ART
Through time the indigenous Australians developed a unique form
of art, which has been modified into contemporary Aboriginal Art.
This section covers their traditional, contemporary and rock art.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Indigenous Australians had a complex social structure, which was
intricately connected with other Aboriginal Groups. They had their
own laws, authority, punishment and kinship systems. They had established
trade routines and ceremonies for initiation, funerals and marriages.
Each person in the community had specific roles to perform throughout
their daily life. In this section we also look at an Aboriginal
childhood and the games they developed.
LIFE STYLE
The Aboriginal lifestyle varies greatly to those of other cultures.
In this section we look at their use of Food, Water, Plants, Animals,
Technology, Medicine, Clothing, Shelter, Weapons, Wooden Implements
and Stone Tools.
IMAGES
Images are available of the Iga Warta Tour in the Flinders Ranges,
Adnyamathanha art and artifacts from the Adelaide Museum and images
of the native Flora and Fauna.
ACTIVITIES
Activities are interactive and loads of fun! This section includes
word recognition, class curriculums, individual or group activities,
crosswords, multiple choice tests and click and drag animals. The
sources we used which made the authenticity of this site possible
are cited on the Citations page.
TEAM PAGE
A page that gives a glimpse of the multimedia team that were the
makers of this site.
POSTCARDS
Here you can create an electronic postcard of the Australiana landscapes
and animals to send to your friends.
MESSAGES
Here students are able to leave comments and questions or write
to the team.
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