Embedded Files
Australia is home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including the Traditional Custodians of the world’s oldest living and continuous cultures. While this page primarily focuses on Indigenous students in Australia, it also acknowledges and draws connections with First Nations peoples globally.
There is deep value in learning from one another, sharing stories, and amplifying Indigenous knowledge systems. Most importantly, this page emphasises the critical need for genuine consultation with local communities and respectful engagement with Indigenous peoples.
This matters because meaningful inclusion and culturally safe practice begin with listening, collaboration, and a commitment to self-determination.
Engagement must begin from the outset and be grounded in prior and informed consent, ensuring communities have full agency over how, when, and to what extent they are involved. This transparency is essential for trust, reciprocity, and truly ethical partnerships.
Research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Learning from Country Framework
Learning from Country Framework
The paper outlines the Learning from Country framework, developed to support preservice teachers in embedding Aboriginal knowledges through community-led, Country-centred experiences. It emphasises deep listening, cultural humility, and relational learning grounded in Aboriginal voices and perspectives.
Thorpe, K., Burgess, C., & Egan, S. (2021). Aboriginal community-led preservice teacher education: Learning from Country in the City. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.14221
A Differentiated Approach to Indigenous Pedagogies
A Differentiated Approach to Indigenous Pedagogies
This 'differentiated approach to Indigenous pedagogies' project examined how Australian educators access and engage with digital resources on Indigenous pedagogies, highlighting that information on Indigenous teaching methods varies widely in relational depth, terminology, and context, making it challenging for non-Indigenous teachers to engage respectfully.
Funk, J., & Woodroffe, T. (2023). A differentiated approach to Indigenous pedagogies: Addressing gaps in teachers’ knowledge. The Australian Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00616-w
Culturally Nourishing Schools Project
Culturally Nourishing Schools Project
The Culturally Nourishing Schooling website supports schools in embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into everyday practice. It offers research-informed frameworks, teaching resources, and community-led strategies to foster inclusive, respectful, and culturally sustaining education. The focus is on affirming identity, centring Indigenous voices, and transforming school systems through genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Culturally Nourishing Schooling. (n.d.). Culturally Nourishing Schooling. https://www.culturallynourishingschooling.org.au
The Digital Divide
The Digital Divide
This infographic addresses digital inclusion challenges faced by First Nations families and children, particularly in remote regions, highlighting barriers like affordability, access, and digital literacy. It calls for a co-designed, culturally appropriate national Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan (IDIP) led by First Nations communities, increased investment in infrastructure, devices, and skills, and ongoing research to measure and close the gap.
Good Things Foundation Australia, & Save the Children Australia. (2021, November). Closing the digital divide for First Nations families and children: Joint submission to Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan discussion paper. National Indigenous Australians Agency. https://www.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/submissions/idip-sub-good-things-foundation-save-the-children.pdf
AI 'Cultural Theft'
AI 'Cultural Theft'
The ABC's Indigenous Affairs Team found popular AI models will replicate and genericise First Nations art, stories, and languages.
Terri Janke, an expert in Indigenous cultural property, says AI lacks the Dreaming, kinship, and cultural responsibilities vital to many First Nations art practices.
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-23/calls-to-protect-indigenous-intellectual-property-from-ai-cultur/105680182
Resources
Resources
Culturally Safe Resources in First Nations languages
Culturally Safe Resources in First Nations languages
The eSafety Commissioner’s First Nations webpage provides culturally safe, community-informed resources to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in navigating online spaces safely. It includes practical advice, stories in language, yarning tools, and digital wellbeing materials designed in collaboration with First Nations communities.
Watch short videos in other languages - including Aboriginal English, NT Kriol, Torres Strait Islander Creole and Warlpiri - for tips about taking care of yourself online and what to do about abuse.
The video on the left is an example of a video in Aboriginal English.
eSafety Commissioner. (n.d.). First Nations. Australian Government. https://www.esafety.gov.au/first-nations
Warrma Mangarrayi: Listen and Talk
Warrma Mangarrayi: Listen and Talk
Warrma Mangarrayi leverages a phrase-based learning model that aligns with everyday communicative needs in the Mangarrayi community where their langauge was critically endangered, especially focusing on functional phrases for daily use. The underlying “Listen N Talk” shell offers a flexible template that can support learning of other Indigenous languages by adapting to different cultural and linguistic contexts with emphasis on cultural aspirations.
Research papers
Research papers
Artist: Katie Budgen (@katiebudgen), Source: Canva
Out of the black box: Indigenous protocols for AI
Out of the black box: Indigenous protocols for AI
State that AI must be developed through Indigenous protocols that centre Country and community leadership, promoting ethical and culturally grounded approaches that respect Indigenous knowledge systems and data sovereignty.
State that AI must be developed through Indigenous protocols that centre Country and community leadership, promoting ethical and culturally grounded approaches that respect Indigenous knowledge systems and data sovereignty.
Abdilla, A., Kelleher, M., Shaw, R., & Yunkaporta, T. (2021). Out of the black box: indigenous protocols for AI. Melbourne: Deakin University (https://hdl. handle. net/10536/DRO/DU: 30159239).
Abdilla, A., Kelleher, M., Shaw, R., & Yunkaporta, T. (2021). Out of the black box: indigenous protocols for AI. Melbourne: Deakin University (https://hdl. handle. net/10536/DRO/DU: 30159239).
Envisioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AI Futures
Envisioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AI Futures
Assert that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership is needed in shaping AI futures, ensuring that technologies uphold Indigenous sovereignty, values, and self-determination.
Assert that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership is needed in shaping AI futures, ensuring that technologies uphold Indigenous sovereignty, values, and self-determination.
Barrowcliffe, R., Hutchinson, B., Abdilla, A., Acres, L., Beetson, B., Bell, A., ... & Wright, S. (2025). Envisioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AI Futures Communique: March 2025. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 9(1), 1-8.
Read here
Barrowcliffe, R., Hutchinson, B., Abdilla, A., Acres, L., Beetson, B., Bell, A., ... & Wright, S. (2025). Envisioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AI Futures Communique: March 2025. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 9(1), 1-8.
Read here
Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices
Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices
Argue that embedding Indigenous knowledges in machine learning can help prevent culturally unsafe AI practices, such as the misuse of Indigenous art and knowledge.
Carlson, B. L., & Richards, P. (2023, September 8). Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices. The Conversation.
Read here
Argue that embedding Indigenous knowledges in machine learning can help prevent culturally unsafe AI practices, such as the misuse of Indigenous art and knowledge.
Carlson, B. L., & Richards, P. (2023, September 8). Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices. The Conversation.
Read here
The new frontier: Artificial intelligence, copyright and Indigenous culture
The new frontier: Artificial intelligence, copyright and Indigenous culture
Janke (2023) explores how AI intersects with copyright and Indigenous culture, emphasising the need to protect Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) in emerging technologies.
Janke, T. (2023, May 1). The new frontier: Artificial intelligence, copyright and Indigenous culture. Terri Janke and Company.
Generative AI in the classroom risks further threatening Indigenous inclusion in schools
Generative AI in the classroom risks further threatening Indigenous inclusion in schools
Generative AI risks misrepresenting Indigenous cultures and violating data sovereignty, especially when used without cultural guidance in classrooms. Teachers need clearer support to use AI in ways that respect Indigenous knowledge and promote genuine inclusion.
Worrell, T. (2024). Generative AI in the classroom risks further threatening Indigenous inclusion in schools. The Conversation.
Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices
Indigenous knowledges informing “machine learning” could prevent stolen art and other culturally unsafe AI practices
Worrell and Johns (2024) outline the potential harms generative AI poses to Indigenous peoples, including cultural misappropriation, loss of control over data, and the erasure of Indigenous knowledges through biased systems.
Worrell, T., & Johns, D. (2024). Indigenous considerations of the potential harms of generative AI. agora, 59(2), 33-36.
Authors
Authors
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