Abstract
The one thing that all Australians, or people living in Australia, have in common is that they walk in Aboriginal Countrys every day. Countrys that, when respected, seen and read appropriately, when listened to and heard, when felt, teach us about our interconnectedness to everything around us. In this chapter, where we craft and use a notation that is reflective of Australian Indigenous Knowings, we Story the power of reflective practice when engaging with how we live in Country. Reflection is an ancient wisdom inherent in Indigenous Knowings. Our reflective practice embraces our connections with the world, our ability to live as part of the world, rather than distinct from it. Our world and our world view privileges Indigenous Knowings showcased here through the construct of Lilyology. In this chapter we Story our shared experiences as Aboriginal practitioners, as Aboriginal academics engaging with pre-service teachers in Australia, in the hope that we can respond to the question “How can we speak to those non-Indigenous people who are only beginning to understand Australian Indigenous concepts of Country?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
“Country refers to lands, and waters, ecosystems of both and the world of the skies above us. Country/Countrys is the term we have chosen to use to describe Aboriginal Countrys, spaces and places. It is capitalised and pluralised to give respect to our diversity. The term Country embodies ecological systems that are so much a part of Indigenous Knowings ; it is not just limited to geographical space and place. We have chosen to spell the plural differently to embrace distinctness of concept” (Blair 2015a, p. xv).
- 2.
“We have chosen to use the term Story/Storys to reflect and show respect for Indigenous diversity and Knowing of the concept of Story. The spelling of the plural—Storys—reflects cultural distinctness of the concept” (Blair 2015a p. xv).
- 3.
Storying is used here as a verb and embodies Indigenous Story telling from an Indigenous context and centre.
- 4.
We have used the term Indigenous Knowings throughout this text to identify Indigenous knowledge as something different and distinct to Western Knowledge . “The word Knowing is capitalised and pluralised to reflect and respect diversity across Indigenous Countrys ” (Blair 2015a, p. xv).
- 5.
We have chosen to write in first person as this showcases our subjectivity an essential element of Indigenous research methodologies.
- 6.
A totem is a part of very complex Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship systems which acknowledge “every part of Country is alive”, being a form of ordering the world (Kwaymullina and Kwaymullina 2010). In this instance, We are referring to the personal totem of one of the authors. For further information, go to http://sydney.edu.au/kinship-module/learning/4-totems.shtml a Kinship Module developed by Lynn Riley 2016.
References
Adler, S. (2004). Multiple layers of a researcher’s identity: Uncovering Asian American voices. In K. Mutua & B. B. Swadener (Eds.), Decolonizing research in cross-cultural contexts. Critical personal narratives (pp. 107–122). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Akbari, R. (2007). Reflections on reflection: A critical appraisal of reflective practices in L2 teacher education. System: An International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, 35(2), 192–207.
Arbon, V. (2008). Arlathirnda Ngurkarnda Ityirnda. Being-knowing-doing. De-colonising Indigenous tertiary education. Teneriffe: Post Pressed.
Arrows, F. (2006). Introduction. In F. Arrows (Ed.), Unlearning the language of conquest. Scholars expose anti-Indianism in America (pp. 18–28). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Atkinson, J. (2002). Trauma trails, recreating song lines: The transgenerational effects of trauma in indigenous Australia. North Melbourne: Spinifex Press.
Australian Bureau of Metereology. (2014). Indigenous weather knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/index.shtml
Battiste, M., & Youngblood Henderson, S. (2000). Protecting indigenous knowledge and heritage. A global challenge. Saskatoon: Purich.
Bell, D. (1998). Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin. A world that is, was, and will be. North Melbourne: Spinifex Press.
Benterrak, K. M. (1996). Reading the country. South Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
Bird Rose, D. (1996). Nourishing terrains. Australian aboriginal views of landscape and wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
Blair, N. (2015a). Privileging Australian indigenous knowledge. Sweet potatoes, spiders, waterlilys and brick walls. Champaign: Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations/Common Ground Press.
Blair, N. (2015b). Aboriginal education: More than adding different perspectives. In N. Weatherby-Fell (Ed.), Learning to teach in the secondary school (pp. 189–208). Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Blair, N. (2016). Australian aboriginal knowledges and service learning. In B. Bartleet, D. Bennett, A. Power, & N. Sunderland (Eds.), Engaging first peoples in arts-based service learning. Towards respectful and mutually beneficial educational practices (pp. 99–117). Cham: Springer.
Cajete, G. (2004). Look to the mountain. An ecology of Indigenous education. Skyland: Kivaki Press.
Carnes, R. (2011). Changing listening frequency to minimise white noise and hear indigenous voices. Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues, 14(2–3), 170–184.
Country, B., Wright, S., Suchet-Pearson, S., Lloyd, K., Burarrwanga, L., Ganambarr, R., … & Maymuru, D. (2015). Working with and learning from country: Decentring human authority. Cultural Geographies, 22(2), 269–283.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Fixico, D. (2003). The American Indian mind in a linear world. New York: Routledge.
Hanlen, W. (2007). Indigenous literacies: Moving from social construction. In L. D. Makin (Ed.), Literacies in childhood: Changing views, challenging practice (2nd ed., pp. 233–234). Sydney: Elsevier Australia.
Harrison, M. D. (2013). My people’s dreaming: An Aboriginal elder speaks on life, land, spirit and forgiveness. Sydney: HarperCollins Australia.
Hokari, M. (2000). History happening in/between body and place: Journey to the aboriginal way of historical practice. Paper presented at the Habitus 2000 Conference: A Sense of Place, Unversity of Western Australia Perth.
Jones, M., & Ryan, J. (Eds.). (2014). Successful teacher education. Partnerships, reflective practice and the place of technology. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
King, T. (2003). The truth about stories. A native narrative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodologies. Characteristics, conversations and contexts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Kwaymullina, A. (2005). Seeing the light: Aboriginal law, learning and sustainable living in country. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 6(11), 12–15.
Kwaymullina, A. (2014). Walking many worlds: Storytelling and writing for the young. Retrieved from http://www.wheelercentre.com/notes/e221876968a8/
Kwaymullina, B., & Kwaymullina, A. (2010). Learning to read the signs: Law in an Indigenous reality. Journal of Australian Studies, 34(2), 195–208.
Langton, M. (1993). Well, I saw it on the television and I heard it on the radio. Sydney: Australian Film Commission.
Langton, M. (2000). Sacred geography western desert traditions of landscape art. In H. Perkins & H. Fink (Eds.), Papunya Tula: Genesis and genius (pp. 259–267). Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Loughran, J. (2002). Effective reflective practice. In Search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 33–43.
Martin, K. (2008). Please knock before you enter. Aboriginal regulation of outsiders and the implications for researchers. Teneriffe: Post Pressed.
McConchie, M. (2003). Elders. Wisdom from Australia’s Indigenous leaders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nakata, M. (2007). Disciplining the savages. Savaging the disciplines. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Neidjie, B. (1989). Story about feeling. Broome: Magabala Books.
Orr, D. W. (2004). Earth in mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Phillips, J., & Lampert, J. (2012). Introductory Indigenous studies in education. Reflection and the importance of knowing. Melbourne: Pearson.
Randall, B. (2003). Songman the story of an Aboriginal elder. Sydney: ABC Books.
Respect Relationships Reconciliation. (2016). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: Resources for pre-service teachers. Retrieved from http://rrr.edu.au/
Riley, L. (2016). Kinship learning module. University of Sydney. Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/kinship-module/learning/4-totems.shtml
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.
Shiva, V. (2013). Making peace with the earth. London: Pluto Press.
Sveiby, K. E., & Skuthorpe, T. (2006). Treading lightly: The hidden wisdom of the world’s oldest people. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Tabachnick, B. R., & Zeichner, K. (1991). Issues and practice in inquiry-oriented teacher education. London: Falmer Press.
Tiffin, H., & Huggan, G. (2009). Postcolonial ecocriticism: Literature, animals, environment. London: Routledge.
Trudgen, R. (2000). Djambatj Mala. Why warriors lie down and die. Darwin: Aboriginal Resource and Development Services Inc.
Tuhiwai Smith, L. (1999). Decolonizing research methodologies. Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
Ungunmerr-Baumann, M-R. (2002). Dadirri: Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. Emmaus Productions. Retrieved from http://nextwave.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Dadirri-Inner-Deep-Listening-M-R-Ungunmerr-Bauman-Refl.pdf
Watson, I. (1998). Power of the Muldarbi, the road to its demise. The Australian Feminist Law Journal, 11, 28–45.
Watson, A., & Huntington, O. H. (2008). They’re here – I can feel them: The epistemic spaces of Indigenous and western knowledges. Social & Cultural Geography, 9(3), 257–281.
Wilshire, B. (2006). On the very idea of “a worldview” and of “alternative worldviews”. In F. A. Jacobs (Ed.), Unlearning the language of conquest. Scholars expose anti-Indianism in America (pp. 160–272). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Wilson, S. (2008). Research is ceremony. Indigenous research methods. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
Youngblood Henderson, J. (2000). Ayukpachi: Empowering aboriginal thought. In M. Battiste (Ed.), Reclaiming indigenous voice and vision (pp. 248–278). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge Countrys we come from and have walked as well as the spirits of the ancestors of these Countrys both for their guidance and wisdom. We acknowledge our friend who walked Mt. Kincumba with us.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Blair, N., Collins-Gearing, B. (2017). Reflective Practice: Ancient Wisdom and Practice—Australian Indigenous Reflections in Teacher Education Through Shared Storying. In: Brandenburg, R., Glasswell, K., Jones, M., Ryan, J. (eds) Reflective Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices, vol 17. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3431-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3431-2_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-3429-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-3431-2
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)