Understanding builds trust and confidence. Here are three simple ways to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture.

Learn the basics by reading one of these short but simple resources:

• A one-page summary of Aboriginal history and culture (PDF 832k) has been developed by Tranby Aboriginal College for ANTaR. Reading it is a great place to start in building your understanding.
• For more detail, The Little Red Yellow Black Book is a wide-ranging but accessible introduction to Indigenous Australia. This book is available from ANTaR.

Learn by participating and attend an Indigenous cultural event or museum

• Look for and attend local events such as Yabun (Sydney), NAIDOC celebrations (Australia-wide) and the Garma Festival (Northern Territory).
• Visit your local museum – many local museums around Australia have a section on Aboriginal culture. Some capital cities have ongoing exhibitions, such as Melbourne Museum's Bunjilaka, The Australian Museum in Sydney, The National Museum in Canberra, and Queensland Museum’s Dandiiri Maiwar. There are also specialist museums such as the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne and Muru Mittigar in Penrith.

Understand cultural differences by doing cultural awareness training

• Groups: Do some cultural awareness training, which is now accepted as ‘a must’ by many organisations. This training is offered via some local Aboriginal Land Councils (Australia-wide) and the Tranby Aboriginal College (Sydney).
• Individuals: Some councils also offer cultural awareness training for locals. If your council doesn’t, ask them why and tell them you want them to offer it! Some TAFEs and other adult education institutions also offer cultural awareness training or Aboriginal studies components.

Make it fun!

Don’t forget to make it fun! For starters, listen to the lyrics of this awesome cover of Kev Carmody’s song “River of Tears”, performed here by The Drones:

If you like the video clip, buy the entire CD "Cannot Buy My Soul". The CD contains covers and originals of Kev Carmody’s songs.

What did you do to understand?

Let us know what you've done to understand a little more about Indigenous culture and history by leaving a comment here: