Face of Nation : Hunting weapons, traditional tools and animal skins lay arranged on the oval of Briar Road Public school in Sydney’s west.
A class of eager Year 6 boys watch on as their teachers prepare to show them how each instrument worked.
But this isn’t an ordinary lesson; their teachers are also their peers.
Aboriginal student Zayden Lett calls the class to attention and proceeds to show his classmates how to throw a spear, the art of sending messages in the days before mobile phones, and the origins of the boomerang.
The workshops run as part of the school’s NAIDOC Week celebrations, and it’s a rare opportunity for Zayden to share his culture with his peers.
Forty per cent of the students at the school are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.
“NAIDOC week is my favourite because I learn about my culture, and kids learn about their culture, and it’s tradition,” Zayden tells SBS News.
“Normally teachers do this kind of stuff, but when an Aboriginal kid does this it’s more special for the kids.”
In a classroom less than 200 metres away, girls from Years 3 to 6 six make bracelets using traditional weaving techniques.
They use a combination of yellow, red and black coloured straw; the colours of the Aboriginal flag.
Gamilaroi student Natalya Hicks is helping to run the weaving workshop.
She explains to the class how Aboriginal women used weaving to make baskets and sieves centuries ago.
“It’s just fun sharing my culture and teaching other people,” Natalya said.
NAIDOC Week is held each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The theme for 2019 is ‘Voice. Treaty. Truth.’
To mark the occasion, Briar Road Public School has run dance workshops, a community dinner and sports competitions, as well as the student-led workshops.
“The meaning of it for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia is immense, and it’s really important that we send the message tha
Australia’s Indigenous history has increasingly been incorporated into the national school curriculum.
Ms Anderson says she has seen significant strides towards meaningful inclusion of Indigenous culture in schools, in her 18 years of teaching.
t we value it,” school principal Tammy Anderson says.
“I think that we’ve come a long way in terms of what we do on a school scale, moving away from tokenistic behaviours, moving to really authentic teaching and learning, where students are gaining a greater appreciation, knowledge and skills in the area of Aboriginal culture and people,” she said.
The school’s Aboriginal curriculum culture teacher Jason Sampson works alongside non-Indigenous staff to help them embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in classroom lessons year-round.
“We see the real benefits of making students feel a sense of belonging and if we can do that, through connecting them with their culture and strengthen their identity … the relevance of schooling becomes much more deep and meaningful for them,” he says.
He is one of many in the Australian education system working to help the next generation of Indigenous Australians find their voice and know their truth.
“We want them to make sure that they’re proud of their culture and that the knowledge that they have … they can share that amongst their peers.”
