Black Cockatoo

Year 9 students in Mr Ward’s English class are currently studying the novella ‘Black Cockatoo’, a story about Mia, a 13-year-old girl living in a remote community in the Kimberly. To develop students’ understanding of Aboriginal cultural and lifestyle practices, the students worked with Daniel in Namawi Pulgi last Wednesday. The students engaged in dialogue with Daniel, asking questions about how Aboriginal cultural and language groups work, the experiences of living on country, and how totems play an important role in Aboriginal peoples’ identity. After the session, students wrote down their thinking to try and capture the important information they uncovered. Below are some of the key take-away from the session, and how they can apply this new learning to the novella they are studying.

“Aboriginal culture is a very sustainable culture and cannot be defined by stereotypes”

“Totems are passed down by families and to pass culture down generations is an active thing”

“Aboriginal people from all over Australia have different languages, and don’t always speak the same language even if they’re from the same area”

“Elders have the most respect, and they are the leaders and contribute to the community”

Alistair Ward - English Teacher