Indigenous Education Resources
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
Sites are Australian unless specifically indicated otherwise. They may be suited to either/both Indigenous Education or Indigenous Studies. They may apply to several curriculum areas. Resources cover all areas from Dreamtime stories to specific Careers advice, Indigenous readers to film guides, statistics to webquests. Unless otherwise stated they are free.
Listed individual resources are suitable for teacher use with all education levels unless specifically indicated otherwise.
ABC and SBS
- ABC Online Indigenous
News, video, television, Language Map, more.
and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
ABC Splash. Done in levels with sections for parents and teachers. Video, audio, digibooks, links, more.
- Dust Echoes : Ancient Stories, New Voices
‘A series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law’.
- First Contact
‘First Contact shines a light on the deep divide between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the nation by taking six non-Indigenous people and immersing them into Aboriginal Australia for the first time’. SBS.
‘A channel made by, for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Through us, you will discover a channel for all Australians’. Linked with SBS.
Education Departments & Schools
Dreamtime Stories Unit of Lesson Plans - Year 3 and 4
Australian Curriculum Lessons. ‘Will allow students to explore and analyse traditional Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories. Upon completion of the program, students will write their own Dreamtime story’.
- Aboriginal Education Research & Resources
New South Wales Board of Studies. Links to information regarding ACAP, numeracy, literacy, Primary Links. A number are PDF documents. Part of the larger Aboriginal Educational Contexts site.
- Aboriginal Studies
NSW HSC Online. Social Justice & Human Rights, with specific case studies listed.
- Deadly Pathways
‘Career Information Service, Queensland. Deadly Pathways has a lot of information specifically for Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students’.
- Indigenous Kids Read
‘A free resource for Indigenous families to help their young children [0-8 years old] with literacy and language development. Developed by a project team that included Indigenous and non-Indigenous early childhood educators’. Department of Education and Training, NT.
- Koorie Learning
Education and Training, Victoria.
- Let Us Teach You
Walungurru Kuula, NT. ‘Follow the links on this page to learn from the skills and knowledge of the students of Walungurru’.
- Web Links - Aboriginal Studies
Compiled under several topic headings by the North Sydney Institute of TAFE, NSW.
- Art + Soul : Study
‘The series offers a fascinating tour of the history and infinite variety of the work of Indigenous artists. At the same time, art + soul provides a cultural and political history of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have represented their country and their culture visually’. EnhanceTV.
- Ten Canoes Study Guide
‘Ten Canoes provides an excellent resource for studying two aspects of Indigenous culture : 1. A study of the film offers us a way of exploring the rich depiction of the traditional Indigenous culture, lifestyle and language of Arnhem Land, and 2. A study of the making of the film offers us a way of exploring change and continuity in that culture in modern times’.
Government Departments, Libraries …
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Books
[State Library of Queensland]
‘Turn the pages and listen to the collection of virtual books listed here’. Also try a number of the Children’s Books, e.g. Poruma Children’s Picture Diaries.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resource Portal
KidsMatter. ‘Primarily designed to help primary schools and early childhood education and care services working through the KidsMatter framework’.
Them Home Education Module
‘Updated with additional activities that complement the publication Us Taken-Away Kids, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report’.
- Financial Literacy for Indigenous Australians
‘This section has information written for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about areas from Budgeting and saving to Scams and warnings’. Videos, audio posters, audio ads, links, more.
- First Australians
‘National Museum of Australia - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories’.
- Indigenous Australians
Access resources held by the State Library of NSW. Resources on people, language, art, more.
- Indigenous Australians 
‘A handy list of links that contain information just for Indigenous Australian customers’.
- Indigenous Education and Cultural
An annotated listing of links from the Professional Teachers’ Council of NSW.
- Indigenous Education - LibGuides at Southern
Multiple sections from Books to Websites. Clearly described.
- Indigenous Statistics for Schools
Sections on Population, Work, Income, Industry and Occupation, Housing and Health while one section covers Education. Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- Indigenous Weather Knowledge
‘Indigenous Australians have long held their own seasonal calendars based on the local sequence of natural events. A map of Australia with hyperlinks to the corresponding seasonal calendars for given regions’.
- The Little Red Yellow Black Website
‘A site for anyone wanting an introduction to the rich history and contemporary culture of Indigenous Australia’.
- Aboriginal Resources -
Multicultural & Indigenous
‘Children can learn about Australian Aboriginal culture in fun and interesting ways with these products’. Fee-based.
- Aboriginal Teaching Resources for Language Learning, Literacy,
History, Culture & Aboriginal Education
‘An innovative new teaching and learning system that gives all students, regardless of their ethnic background or age, the opportunity to learn about and engage in the rich diversity of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures’. Fee-based resources.
Established by the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land. General information, specific areas.
- Aboriginal Art Education Resources
Japingka Gallery. ‘Presents quality education resources that may be useful for teachers in primary and secondary schools who would like to incorporate information about Australian Aboriginal artists and their art into lessons’.
‘Provides searchable information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, writing, storytelling, criticism and reviews’.
- Central Art Aboriginal Art and Culture
‘Collection of articles, audios, videos relating to Aboriginal people and their art. Find stories on Aboriginal dreamings, interviews with Aboriginal artists, information on different Aboriginal art regions’.
- Crackerjack Education
‘Our expert team have individually designed written and chosen Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander online resources that match each Indigenous code of the Australian Curriculum. Topics include : Language, Dreaming Stories, Cultural maths, Cultural knowledge, Poetry, songs and rhyme, Cultural texts, Kinship, Weather seasons, First contact, Status and rights, Commemorative events, Communicating with culture, Country and place, Notable individuals and Comparing cultures’.
- Dare to Lead
No longer offered as a separate service. See total options on this page.
- Dhinawun Consultancy
Consultancy in the area of Aboriginal Education, culture and learning. Fee-based but within the scope of a school wishing to access their expertise.
- Education Resources
Bangarra Dance Theatre. 6 items with linked resources, suggested grade levels, more.
- Indigenous Literacy Foundation
‘Funds raised by the Foundation help purchase and supply culturally appropriate books and literacy resources for over 200 remote communities around Australia’. See how schools can be involved.
- Indigenous Education Projects Unit
‘Established to manage Indigenous education projects and develop partnerships that work collaboratively to progress the goals of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy and the Melbourne Declaration’. Access a separate blog by Dr Chris Sarra who is associated with this Institute.
- Indij Readers
‘Indij Readers For Big Fullas and Little Fullas is a collection of literacy acquisition classroom stories, accompanying teachers’ guides, other support materials [media files]’. Links provided to Australian Curriculum.
‘The stories in the italk library can be viewed as a video, and/or as an italk story using the free italk library app. This app overcomes literacy barriers by enabling you to listen to stories in your first language, and in English’.
- Language of Belonging
‘A multi-platform education resource based on the ground breaking Indigenous animation Wadu Matyidi. Designed specifically for Primary-aged students, this diverse learning program explores Adnyamathanha language, culture, stories and traditions, encouraging students to develop their own portfolio and cultural understanding. A password to access the Language of Belonging website is provided when you purchase the resource’.
‘Award winning training and education authoring solution that produces high value interactive presentations using easily identifiable digital personalities tailored to target audiences’. Fee-based.
- Music Outback Foundation
‘Dedicated to the use of music and related art forms as a means of improving outcomes on remote Indigenous communities’.
- Our Dreamings
‘Our Dreamings is a multimedia downloadable educational resource about indigenous aboriginal traditional art and culture from the Central Desert of Australia. Available to purchase and download direct to your own desktop’.
Resources [Early Childhood Australia]
Extensive listing of annotated links to resources.
- Resources for Schools and Families
Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.. ‘Click to view a specific resource or scroll down to see all resources’.
- Rick Roser Resources
Resources from clipart to performances on this site.
- Ronin Films - Indigenous Australia
‘Including many films by Indigenous film makers. Stories range across issues relating to health, identity, the “Stolen Generation”, art, anthropology, traditional life and culture, history and archaeology both before and after the arrival of Captain Cook’.
- Teacher & Student Resources
Creative Spirits. ‘Find Aboriginal teaching resources for classroom activities with your students. Use these education resources for teaching ideas, assignments and studies at uni, high or primary school’.
- The Critical Classroom
‘For teachers wishing to embed Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives into their classroom practice’. Free Indigenous Resources, links to other Indigenous resources, teaching ideas.
- The Dreaming
Aboriginal Nations Australia. ‘An award winning animation series recommended by educational institutions throughout Australia and widely used as a teaching resource for across the curriculum studies in schools and learning institutions in each State & Territory for Years 1-10’.
- The Honey Ant Readers
‘A unique and innovative series of learn-to-read books with complementary resources, developed for Australian Indigenous learners to make literacy learning relevant, meaningful, engaging and fun’.
- What Works. The Work Program
Download the Guidebook and Workbook. You need Flash to view the rest. One example from Salisbury North R-7 School is found here.
- Aboriginal Australia -
‘A WebQuest for Year 5’.
- Aboriginal Use of Native Plants WebQuest
‘Explore the plants used by the Australian Aborigines for food, shelter, medicine and utensils, and the technology they employed to fully utilise the resources available’.
- Shades of Grey - a Reconciliation Webquest
‘As a group you’re going to explore the topic of Reconciliation. Each member of your team will become an expert in one part of the topic’.
- Webquest Direct - Aboriginal Education Perspectives
Access all process and roles for different periods from the menu on the left. Resources, evaluation and Teacher’s guide also available.