Blanket Activity expands knowledge

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains images of people who have died.

Last week Year 10 students were honoured to receive a visit from Aboriginal Network Support Coordinator's Renarta Coyne and Charmaine Climo. Students were lead through a Blanket Activity which provided information on Western Australian Aboriginal history and people, and the importance of land and culture throughout time.

These sessions were an informative yet sobering experience for all involved as expressed by some students below: 

"Throughout the incursion I was thoroughly intrigued in the history being taught and shared, developing a better understanding of the events past and how disadvantaged many Aboriginal Australian groups were. It taught the importance of acknowledging the true sequence of events and reconciling in the poor actions and decisions made by the colonisers that came here."

"The blankets were a creative and smart idea of representing how Indigenous communities and their land were being taken away. I didn't know that so many people died and were taken away as a result of British colonisation."

"The incursion was really interesting and I liked the visual representation of the history through the blanket activity. When people read out the scrolls that was also really interesting because it made it seem like we were actually a part of the history."

"I think it's important to have more incursions like this to broaden our range of knowledge about our history. It made me feel quite sad as I didn't know how poorly they were treated and how limited their lives became. It was confronting to see how recent a lot of events have occurred and how long it took for a change."

JFSC would like to thank both Renarta and Charmaine for giving their time and expertise, and expanding our knowledge of WA Aboriginal history.

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