Indigenous Rights and Freedoms

You may know the song, or you may have heard the saying, but what were the ‘little things’ that actually led to the big changes in the struggle for Indigenous civil and political rights and freedoms in Australia?

Indigenous Rights and Freedoms is a Museum educator-led program where students learn about several key Indigenous and non-Indigenous people involved in the struggles for rights and freedoms for Indigenous Australians, and how these struggles were shaped by global trends such as the American civil rights movements.

Through narratives and gallery exploration students interpret, analyse and discuss the impact that changing attitudes to Indigenous rights has had on contemporary Australia.

Aims

• Investigate the evolution of Indigenous rights in Australia and help students to understand some of the campaigns for rights developed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
• Enable students to recognise the international connections – how Australian history and major global movements shared strategies in the struggle for rights and freedoms.
• Explore key terms surrounding the concept of rights, freedoms and equality.
• Investigate and explore evidence in history through narratives and object analysis. Enable students to draw conclusions about the significance of the development of Indigenous rights in Australia by identifying key people involved in the struggle for these rights and the issues they faced.