Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

25 minutes

Part A: What Is The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples?

25 minutes

Part B: Contextualising Indigenous Rights

40 minutes

Part C: The UNDRIP In Action

10 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students understand...

the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
the connections between the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and current needs and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Students can...

identify rights in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
identify when rights have been upheld and/or denied, restricted and/or disrespected using contemporary examples
source media articles that show examples of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples being upheld.

Part A: What is The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples?

Step 1

Introduce the lesson by asking students if they have heard of the United Nations, and then if they have heard of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or 'the Declaration'). Explain to students that the focus of this lesson is to gain an understanding of what the UNDRIP is and the implications that it has for First Nations peoples of Australia.

Provide each student with a copy of the UNDRIP Factsheet that includes the UNDRIP purpose/preamble in dot points and information about the 9 key sections of the declaration.

If students have access to smartphones for educational purposes, they could also download the RightsApp of full document to further develop their understanding of UNDRIP. (https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/publications/rightsapp or https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIPEweb.pdf)

Step 2

As a class, read through the summary and the headings of each section. Explain to students that each of the sections is broken down into Articles that explain the rights in detail.

Step 3

Invite students to watch the following video from the Australian Human Rights Commission to broaden their understanding of the UNDRIP in supporting reconciliation in Australia.

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB2uZxekt-k&feature=youtu.be)

Step 4

After watching the video, facilitate a class discussion focussing on how the UNDRIP can support the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights. Select the most relevant questions and quotes from below to help guide the discussion:

Why do you think it was necessary to create the UNDRIP?
Why do you think it took 20 years of negotiations to create the UNDRIP?
Why do you think Australia initially voted against the UNDRIP when it was first introduced in 2007?
What do you think the following quote from the video means: "we still gotta work within the Western system"?
How do you think “the Western system” of government might be a barrier for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
Read this quote: "Let no one say the past is dead. The past is all about us and within." Oodgeroo Noonuccal Kath Walker. Why do you think historical acceptance is key to progressing reconciliation in Australia?
Read this quote: "It's gotta be two ways, you know. Europeans came to our country. They've gotta come up beside and we walk side by side and we learn from them and they learn from us." Why is it important for non-Indigenous Australians and the Australian government to actively listen to, and learn from, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
What do you think two-way communication, consultation and collaboration ‘look like’/entail?
Why are positive race relations (based on mutual trust and respect) important to progressing reconciliation in Australia more broadly?
Do you think Australia is meeting its commitment to upholding the rights outlined in the UNDRIP?
Why is attention to equality and equity important to reconciliation in Australia? This means ensuring that First Nations peoples are able to participate equally in a range of life opportunities all the while ensuring that the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are actively recognised and upheld.

Part B: Contextualising Indigenous rights

Step 1

Explain to students that they will watch a clip from the documentary The Final Quarter, which was created to tell the story of the final three years of Adam Goodes’s AFL playing career using only archival footage and commentary. To ensure students understand the context of the clip, ensure students are familiar with the AFL’s annual Indigenous Round. The following information may be useful in providing some background information for students.

The AFL have a strong history of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and players to ensure their rights and freedoms are upheld, and that their cultures and contributions are recognised and celebrated. The main aim of the Sir Douglas Nicholls Indigenous Round is to recognise and celebrate First Nations and cultures. This acknowledgement links directly to sections 3, 4 and 5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Aboriginal people have not always been accepted as equal in the AFL and many were told not to identify as First Nations peoples when they were first able to start playing the sport. This was the same in Rugby League – instead, there are stories of players saying they were told to say they were Indian rather than Aboriginal. This is despite the fact that the game of AFL that we know today stems from and has many similarities to the game of Marngrook, a traditional Aboriginal game.

Step 2

Watch the following clip of the 2015 AFL Indigenous Round where Adam Goodes celebrates a goal with a war cry/dance.

Indigenous Round 2015 (https://vimeo.com/350235041/8650a69c57)

Step 3

After watching the clip, invite students to form groups of 2 or 3. Provide each student with a Student Worksheet and explain that they will use the information in the clip and the rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Articles 11-17 to determine when Adam Goodes' rights were upheld and when they were denied, restricted and/or disrespected.

Encourage students to discuss their observations in their groups and remind students that they will each need to complete the UNDRIP Observation grid (included below).

UNDRIP Observation Grid

Provide each group with a web-enabled device so that students can re-watch the clip and pause to take notes.

Step 4

Once groups have recorded their observations, facilitate a class discussion based on their findings. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:

Using the examples from your observation grid, what rights were violated in the clip? Why do you think the right/s was/were violated?
What attitudes do you think lie behind these rights violations, and why do you think this?
Who – on both an institutional and/or individual level – do you think is accountable for upholding these rights? How/why?
What rights did you notice being upheld in the clip?
What role do you think institutions such as the AFL play in the process of reconciliation in Australia?
What are other benefits of upholding and respecting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through institutional and/or cultural events such as the Indigenous Rounds?

Part C: The UNDRIP in action

Step 1

Now that students have a strong understanding of how the rights in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) can be upheld and/or denied in Australia, invite students to share any events or organisations they can recall that have honoured the rights of indigenous peoples (this doesn’t have to be restricted to Australia. Welcome students to share any international cases they know of). Here are some examples you could share:

7 Victories for Indigenous People Around the World You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2017
An Uncommon Victory for an Indigenous Tribe in the Amazon
New Zealand's first Haka at Rugby World Cup 2019
Budj Bim Aboriginal site in western Victoria added to World Heritage list
Australia Swears In Its First Indigenous Minister

Step 2

Explain to students that there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities that are still restricted or denied many of the rights that are listed in the UNDRIP. Invite students to think of and share examples with the class. Here are some examples you could share:

Some of these issues may be seen as controversial by the broader community. Using the UNDRIP will assist students to determine where human rights violations are, in fact, taking place.

Step 3

Now that students have discussed how Indigenous people's rights are upheld globally and how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights are being violated, it is time to investigate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights are currently being honoured and/or acknowledged.

Invite students to access the internet and search for current media articles that include examples or case studies demonstrating how the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are being honoured and/or acknowledged.

While the following links are neither prescriptive or exhaustive, some useful resources and articles are:

Step 4

Encourage students to closely read the articles they discover and find evidence in each that links back to the rights outlined in the UNDRIP. These can be general links to the nine overarching sections, or specific examples under each Article.

Invite students to make note of the article name and web address of each article. Encourage them to write a brief overview of the article and its links to the UNDRIP in the spaces provided on the Student Worksheet.

Article Name:
Web Address:
Brief Overview of the Article:
Links to UNDRIP:

Reflection

Invite students to reflect on their learnings from this lesson by completing the reflection pyramid on the Student Worksheet (included below).

What are 4 pieces of information from this lesson that were new to you, and why is this information important to have learned?
What are 3 positive achievements or events where the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been upheld?
What are 2 emotions that you have felt during this lesson, and why do you think you felt this way?
What is 1 question or issue that you could investigate further, and why do you think it is important to carry out this further learning?

Differentiated learning

Extension

In Part C, students could research a First Nations owned or governed media and write a report on how they support and uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Provisions for Learning Support

In Part B, provide each group with a web-enabled device so that students can re-watch the Indigenous Round 2015 clip and pause when they think there is a connection to one of the UNDRIP Articles. Groups could also focus on one set of Articles, either Articles 11-13 or Articles 14-17 and then share their observations with a group that focused on a different set.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Final Quarter - The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples

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