Indigenous science website goes live

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Indigenous Science is an area of increasing interest for scientific and cultural understanding, and as a mechanism for empowering Australia’s diverse first nations peoples. After centuries with little positive attention to Indigenous science, the recognition and interest are very welcome for most. However, great care needs to be taken to ensure educational resources are made and shared in consultation with experts in a culturally respectful manner. Central to this is that perspectives and pedagogies of Australia’s first peoples should be respected. All non-Indigenous educators working in this space should actively seek out robust cultural competency training, read and watch material generated by experts with cultural relevance, and work at building relationships with local groups. Almost all universities have an Indigenous Engagement office and it is important to seek out the relevant representatives so they can also guide your work. It is also important to keep in mind the following quote. By adding content alone we risk adding nothing if the content is abstracted from the Indigenous perspective and the complex, interdisciplinary nature of Indigenous knowledges. 

The ACDS funded a project, led by Angela Ziebell, to collate, curate and share resources and good practices in this area. We are pleased to announce that the website is now live to support educators in the integration of Indigenous perspectives into the science curriculum. We hope you find it useful.

See the Indigenous science resources here. Further contributions to this website are welcome.