Schools around the country can apply for grants of up to $500 to learn more about the impact of Stolen Generations history on Australia.
The grants enable teachers to bring truth telling to life with age appropriate lesson plans that include the option for schools to receive book bundles with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature.
The Healing Foundation Chair Professor Steve Larkin said the grants would support schools to engage students in meaningful truth telling activities about Australia’s past.
“We’ve seen a national shift in perception around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and this is being driven, in part, by a thirst for more Indigenous knowledge at the school level,” he said.
“Parents understand their children’s desire to know more about the true history of Australia and the schools kit is a great way to educate our kids and we’re seeing that flow on to Mum and Dad.
“We all share the same past and understanding our common history and rewriting the story in a safe way means that together we take some of the stigma out of the narrative.”
The Healing Foundation’s Stolen Generations Reference Group Chair Ian Hamm said the schools kit played an important part in healing the nation and for the thousands of children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities between 1910 and the 1970s.
“The schools kit is an important part of the ongoing healing of our nation,” he said.
“Our children are our future and we’re finally giving them the tools to better understand and frame discussions around truth telling and healing.
“My hope is that all schools will one day soon be teaching our kids what really happened so that together we can create change that builds a better future for Australia.”
The Stolen Generations Resource Kit for Teachers and Students was developed by The Healing Foundation in consultation with Stolen Generations survivors, teachers, parents and curriculum writers.
It includes suggested lesson plans for Foundation Year through to Year 9 and professional learning tools for teachers. Each year level includes four activities that can be taught over a day, week, month or term, mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
The lesson plans, case studies and other resources are available for free download from The Healing Foundation website.
Grant applications open on 3 March and close on 15 April. To find out more or apply visit www.healingfoundation.org.au/schools
The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with communities to address the ongoing trauma caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families.
Media contact: Ben O’Halloran – 0474 499 911 or ben@healingfoundation.org.au
