Hello Mareeba State School,
I am and Aboriginal man from Mornington Island, our land is called Birri and our language is Lardil. This term I have been given the amazing opportunity to teach some of our student's, traditional Indigenous games as a subject. It has been incredibly rewarding so far for me and from what I have seen myself and heard from other teachers, the students have also really been enjoying this subject.
We have been learning games from many different parts of the country as well as some indigenous words that describe either the equipment, actions or other aspects of the game. We are also learning the reasons why people would play them, such as to show off and improve their strength, accuracy, agility and athletic ability, with the purpose of being able to successfully hunt and catch food so they could survive. These games are variations of the important and useful skills the various groups of Indigenous people in Australia would acquire and hone throughout their lives. The games involve throwing and catching in the air and at targets, chasing and evasion, competitive skipping, agility and dexterity, understanding angles and most importantly, they have a lot of fun!
At the beginning and end of the lessons I have been working with the students and incorporating Indigenous perspectives according to the Australian curriculum for the different age groups regarding country/place, culture and people. Used as ice-breakers and rewards, I have been providing the students with in-depth exposure to artefacts and paintings, language, stories of history, beliefs and knowledge of plants used for hunting and medicine, ways of settling disputes as well as technology behind tools, and this is only week three. I am planning to expand on this information and teach many other aspects of both ancient and modern Australian culture from my personal knowledge and own experiences during the weeks to come.
I would again like to mention that watching the students take on this information and ask great questions, seeing them so excited, interested and wanting to know more really warms my heart. It also has been great watching some of the students who don't usually find school so easy, really engaging in the lessons, activities and content. It is great to see something like this just spark their interest, capture their attention and being able to watch them glow and grow is really special. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a part of this journey with these students and assisting them to further develop a sense of self-pride and belonging for all of our Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, now and far into the future.
Mr Remy Fry