Library educational resources on Indigenous cultures and histories

The Library's resources can assist student teachers and others to gain a better understanding of Indigenous culture, says librarian Zachary Kendal.

School visit to the Aboriginal tent embassy Canberra*.

Australia’s Indigenous history goes back tens of thousands of years. In our schools, how do we best engage with the current and historical richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and stories? Imagine you’re a school teacher, weaving Indigenous cultures and histories into your teaching—what resources could you draw on?

Fortunately for our teachers-in-training and educational researchers, Monash University Library's wide range of resources can be used to engage with our Indigenous cultures.

Consider these streaming video resources:

• Informit EduTV: Indigenous Studies – This collection within EduTV contains a huge range of documentaries and TV series on Australian Indigenous studies, including the ABC Kids shorts Grandpa Honeyant Storytime, the ABC series Black Comedy, and the new NITV current affairs series The Point.
• Kanopy: Indigenous Studies – This collection brings together videos about indigenous populations around the world. It’s also worth looking at Kanopy’s AIATSIS Ethnographic Collection, which focuses on Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.
• Monash Country Lines Archive – A collaboration between Monash University researchers, animators, and postgraduate students, this project creates stunning 3D animations to assist in the sharing and preservation of Indigenous knowledge and stories. Take a look at this “Winjara Wiganhanyin (Why We All Die)” animation, which retells a Taungurung creation story.

If you’re wanting to do more in-depth research into Indigenous cultures and histories, you could explore some of the scholarly databases available through the Library, including

•  Informit: Indigenous Collection, 
•  Wiley Research: Indigenous Australia, 
•  Learning Ground: Indigenous Education Research Database. 

You can also take a look at our Indigenous Cultures and Histories Library Guide which includes links to these and other useful resources.



Monash University Library is developing services and programs that focus on improving access, participation, retention and success for students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. The social inclusion-related programs are being implemented across campuses. Contact Zachary Kendal or Roland Clements to find out more.


*Photo Craig Hodges 2010  CC BY 2.0

Share on Google Plus

About Anonymous

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.