Indigenising Curriculum in Practice

Relationships: Tracey Bunda

Professor Tracey Bunda discusses the journey of Indigenising the curriculum at the University of Queensland, where the process began, its progress to date and her hopes for the future. She also reflects on the importance of relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the Indigenising curriculum space and why Country is at the centre of the UQ Indigenising Curriculum Design Principles. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Truth: Anita Heiss

Professor Anita Heiss discusses the importance of truth-telling in teaching and highlights the ways that the recording of history is subjective. She also discusses useful resources in relation to Indigenising the curriculum. You can view the transcript for the interview here.
Information about the book Growing up Aboriginal in Australia can be found here and the teaching notes for the book, developed by Associate Professor Marnee Shay, can be found here. Teaching notes for Professor Anita Heiss’s book Dirrayawadha, developed by Shelley Ware, can be found here. 

Reciprocity: Karin Sellberg

Dr Karin Sellberg discusses how she teaches students about reciprocity through using storying in the classroom to rethink their understandings about research and relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Cultural Capability: Condy Canuto and Heena Akbar

Condy Canuto and Dr Heena Akbar discuss how they are Indigenising the public health curriculum by using a podcast format to share conversations with Indigenous experts and by bringing Indigenous community members into tutorial sessions. They also discuss building the cultural capabilities of students and staff through field trips led by Indigenous knowledge holders. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Respect: Maggie Nolan and Melanie Saward

Associate Professor Maggie Nolan and Dr Melanie Saward discuss BlackWords, a database within AustLit that provides access to a vast record of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and their publications. They discuss the ways educators can use BlackWords to Indigenise the curriculum and the importance of respectfully listening to Indigenous stories. You can view the transcript for the interview here. BlackWords can be found here.

Benefits: Peta Rake and Freja Carmichael

Peta Rake and Freja Carmichael discuss the role of art as a medium to include Indigenous perspectives in the curriculum. They also discuss the role and responsibility of the UQ Art Museum as a space to support and profile diverse Indigenous voices. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Country: Sally Butler and Sonja Carmichael

Associate Professor Sally Butler and Sonja Carmichael discuss the benefits of field teaching to enhance student understandings about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, histories and cultures. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Respect: Sonia Roitman and Greg Kitson

Associate Professor Sonia Roitman and Greg Kitson discuss how they teach students to respect Indigenous perspectives in urban planning courses and their use of art as a tool to teach students about activism and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connections to Country. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Truth: Vigya Sharma

Dr Vigya Sharma discusses how she is Indigenising the curriculum in her humanitarian engineering course. She discusses the use of case studies and videos resources as a way of introducing students to key truths in relation to access to water, sanitation, energy, and infrastructure in remote Indigenous communities. You can view the transcript for the interview here.

Reciprocity: Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, Samantha Cooms and Gemma Irving

Dr Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, Dr Samantha Cooms and Dr Gemma Irving discuss the principles and practices they are using to Indigenise the curriculum in business and management courses. They also discuss the importance of allyship, reciprocity and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff in this context. You can view the transcript for the interview here.