Exclusion zone
Minimum logo size
To ensure the logo is clear of any visual distraction including graphics
and text, a minimum clear area (exclusion zone) has been developed.
This distance is called “clear space”.
The logo may be scaled proportionately
in size as large as desired. However, the
logo should never be smaller than 22mm in
width as the organisation’s name becomes
illegible.
The minimum clear space must be the height of the company name
(see x), from the top of the R to the bottom of the A, as illustrated
below. Wherever possible this amount of clear space should be
increased.
x
x
22mm wide
x
x
x
Visual identity
x
Logo usage
The logo can only be used in three formats:
PRIMARY GUIDE
1. Full colour logo
2. One colour logo (black)
3. One colour reversed logo (white)
The full colour logo may only be
printed in colour from the supplied
files.
In instances where it is not possible
to replicate the logo accurately in
colour, it may be replicated in black.
Where the logo needs to be placed on
a dark or coloured background the one
colour reversed logo (white) should be
used.
Narragunnawali
Reconciliation in Schools and Early Learning
Who We Are: Brave
New Clan
“Who We Are: Brave New Clan (2014)
celebrates diversity across Australia and
we hope it inspires audiences to find out
more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander place names, peoples, languages
and cultures in their own local area.” – Leah
Purcell, Director
Who We Are: Brave New Clan follow the lives of six exceptional young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
who share stories about their communities, history and
cultures in contemporary Australia.
The films engage teachers and students in discussions
about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity and
allow students to examine the influences of family, kinship,
community, Country/place, culture, spirituality, history and
modern mainstream Australian society on Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Using Who We Are:
Brave New Clan in the
classroom
Who We Are: Brave New Clan was designed to align with
the organising ideas of the Australian Curriculum’s crosscurriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures. Use of the films in a classroom
setting will build teachers and students’ knowledge of,
understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander histories, cultures, contributions and ways of
being.
Teacher notes
We encourage teachers to watch the Who We Are: Brave
New Clan short films before showing them to students.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
The below teacher notes provide information to teachers
about how best to sensitively and meaningfully use these
films in the classroom.
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consideration and a positive attitude towards others.
Allow adequate time at the end of each viewing session to
debrief the content and discussion.
Setting the scene
- activities before
viewing the films
The following activities are intended to provide students
with a context for viewing the Who We Are: Brave New
Clan films. You could use them as standalone lessons but
they are best used as a series of lessons, used together.
ACTIVITY 1 – WHO ARE YOU?
If possible, talk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
staff, families or community members about how you
might use the films in your classroom.
Ask students to find a recent photograph of them, insert
the photograph into the centre of a word document and
print it.
Due to the sensitive nature of some of the content in Who
We Are: Brave New Clan, setting classroom ground rules
with your students before viewing is an important step in
creating a safe space and helping develop mutual respect
and understanding between the members of your classroom community. Possible rules could be:
In the blank space students should use words and symbols to describe who they are. Students might like to write
about their personal characteristics, family, where they live,
interests, dreams and hopes for the future.
ACTIVITY 2 – BRAVERY
Discuss with your class the meaning of bravery. What
is bravery? Ask students to write their own definition of
bravery in their workbooks and then check the dictionary meaning of ‘bravery’. Give students the opportunity
to make changes to their definition using the dictionary
meaning.
Having established the definition of bravery, spend time as
a class to making a list of examples of bravery.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
• Be respectful: Each person has their own beliefs and
values.
• Value diversity: Each person has their own world views,
experiences and opinions.
• Listen politely: Each person has a right to contribute
without pressure or intimidation.
• Act with honour and courage: Be brave in sharing
experiences, ideas and opinions.
• Appreciate privacy: Each person has the right to uphold their privacy.
• Act responsibly: Share feedback with thoughtful
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Ask students to complete one of the following tasks:
• for younger students: create a collage of images that
symbolise bravery.
• for older students: think of a time when you were / had
to be brave or when have you seen someone else act
bravely. Write about this example of bravery in a writing
journal.
ACTIVITY 3 – CLAN GROUPS
Ask students: “Have you ever heard of the word ‘clan’?”
Write the responses to this discussion starter on the board.
Ask students to complete the following tasks:
• Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the word ‘clan’.
• Rewrite the dictionary definition using your own words.
• Put the word ‘clan’ in a sentence that shows its
meaning.
Reflection activities after
viewing the films
The following questions are provided to prompt students
to share their initial impressions of Who We Are: Brave
New Clan. They should be completed after the film(s) have
been viewed.
ACTIVITY 1 – EVALUATING TITLES
Facilitate a discussion with your class using the following
discussion starter questions:
• Before you watched Who We Are: Brave New Clan, you
thought about the meanings of the words ‘brave’ and
‘clan’. Now that you have watched Who We Are: Brave
New Clan, why do you think the word ‘new’ is part of
the series’ title?
ACTIVITY 2 – KNOW, WANT TO KNOW,
LEARN (KWL) CHART
A KWL chart is a graphic organiser that tracks what students (k)now, (w)ant to know, and have (l)earned over the
course of a lesson or unit. Use the KWL chart (Resource
Sheet 1) to make notes before, during and after viewing
the films.
W: What do you want to know about Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples?
L: What have you learned about Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples?
ACTIVITY 3 – REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Ask students to complete the reflection questions located
at Resource Sheet 2. Ask students to answer the questions thoughtfully and in full sentences. Ask a few students
to share their answers with the class and use these answers as the basis for a class discussion about why these
films are important.
Class version of Who We Are
Working as a class, make your own Who We Are series.
Ask students to make a short film that tells an audience
something about who they are. Before filming, encourage
students to make a storyboard, write a script and rehearse
their production. Other students, friends or family members can help students film their productions.
The title of Who We Are: Brave New Clan is appropriate
because Kim, Harry, Kaylah, Josh, James and Miranda are
brave and talented individuals, and important members of
their communities – their clans. As a class, you will need to
decide on a title for your series. During the post-production process, having viewed the films, agree on a title that
is representative of the class’ work.
Screen your Who We Are series during a school assembly.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
Who We Are: Brave New Clan comprises short films about
six young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Kim,
Josh, Kaylah, James and Miranda are Aboriginal people.
Harry is a Torres Strait Islander man.
K: What do you know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples?
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Resource Sheet 1: KWL
KNOW
WANT TO KNOW
LEARNED
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
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Resource sheet 2: Reflection
SAME: Write a paragraph that explains how the six young
Australians are the same.
What do you think is the message of the Who We Are:
Brave New Clan short films People, Country/Place and
Culture?
The message of Who We Are: Brave New Clan is…
DIFFERENT: Write a paragraph that explains how the six
young Australians are different.
Why do you think primary school students should watch
People, Country/Place and Culture?
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
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Who We Are: Brave New Clan
Supplementary Resources
This section contains supplementary
information for teachers and students
relating to the main themes of Who We
Are: Brave New Clan. This information is
intended to support and extend teacher
and student knowledge of the organising
ideas contained in the Australian
Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
cultures and histories.
Identity
There are two distinct Indigenous groups in Australia:
Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people.
An Aboriginal person is someone who is of Aboriginal
descent, who identifies as an Aboriginal person, and
is accepted as such by the community in which they
live, or formerly lived. The traditional lands of Aboriginal
Australians are mainland Australia and most of the
islands, including Tasmania, Fraser Island, Palm Island,
Mornington Island, Groote Eylandt, Bathurst and Melville
Islands.
Torres Strait Islander people are Melanesian in origin and
part of the Pacific Islander group of kinship-based societies. A Torres Strait Islander is someone who is of Torres
Strait Islander descent, who identifies as a Torres Strait
Islander, and is accepted as such by the community in
which they live, or formerly lived. The Torres Strait Islands
comprise at least 274 small islands that lie between the
northern tip of Cape York in Queensland and the southwest coast of Papua New Guinea. Many Torres Strait
Islanders live on the Australian mainland. There are also
two Torres Strait Islander communities on the nearby
coast of the mainland at Bamaga and Seisia.
“Country in Aboriginal English is not only a common
noun but also a proper noun. People talk about country
in the same way that they would talk about a person:
they speak to country, sing to country, visit country,
worry about country, feel sorry for country, and long for
country. People say that country knows, hears, smells,
takes notice, takes care, is sorry or happy. Country is not
a generalised or undifferentiated type of place, such as
one might indicate with terms like ‘spending a day in the
country’ or ‘going up the country’. Rather, country is a
living entity with a yesterday, today and tomorrow, with
a consciousness, and a will toward life.” – Deborah BirdRose, Anthropologist1
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
maintain a special connection to Country. Connection to
Country is important whether a person lives in the city or
in a rural area.
This connection has been the core of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander existence in Australia from the time
of the Dreaming and continues to be integral in their lives
today; influencing spiritual, physical, cultural, social and
emotional wellbeing. ‘Healthy Country, healthy people’
is an intrinsic belief held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have always held a responsibility for caring for Country throughout Australia. There are many cultural protocols and practices still in use today to protect, care for, and maintain
the health, strength and wellbeing of the environment.
Culture
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies are made
up of many rich and deep cultures. It is important to
understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples do not have one homogenous culture. Although
there are some commonalities, there are many varied
customs, protocols and traditions that are specific to
each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society that
makes each society distinctive.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples take pride
in their ancestry that goes back tens of thousands of
years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have
evolved over time, just like all cultures through contact
with other people, new technologies and new ideas.
Colonisation and past government policies of assimilation have severely affected the continuation and practice
of some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have adapted dramatically and have proved to be rich and resilient.
It is a strong part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
culture and this is a strong part of our Australian identity.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
One of the biggest myths about Aboriginality is that if
you have fair skin you can’t be Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander. Skin colour has nothing to do with defining
whether a person is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Terms like ‘half-caste’, ‘part Aboriginal’ or ‘mixed blood’
are meaningless and can be deeply offensive. They are
words that belong to the past because they are words
that are divisive, damaging and meaningless. For a
long time, governments deliberately tried to ‘breed out’
Aboriginality by dictating who Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples could and could not marry. Today, many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have pale
skin and many live in urban areas.
Country
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Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
continue to keep culture alive by passing their knowledge, beliefs, arts, rituals and practices from one generation to another and by speaking and teaching through
languages (including English). Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ ways of life are uniquely expressed
through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
The beliefs, customs, and social behavior – that is, the
cultural identity of a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander peoples – incorporates language, dance, song,
stories, art and relationships.
Language
For tens of thousands of years, hundreds of Aboriginal
languages have been spoken across Australia.
Colonisation and past policies of assimilation have severely affected the continuation and practice of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander languages. Most of Australia’s
traditional languages are endangered. This means they
are no longer being spoken daily.
Studies show that there were at least 250 Aboriginal
languages in Australia at the time Europeans arrived.
These were distinct languages (not dialects) and had
extensive vocabularies and complex grammars. Today,
145 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are
still spoken in Australia, however it is estimated only 18
are spoken by people of a wide variety of ages.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
are actively reviving and maintaining their languages.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are important as they reinforce culture, identity and connection to
the Ancestors.
Spirituality
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have unique
and varied belief systems. These belief systems usually
involve a spiritual connection to the land, sea, sky and
waterways.
The English terms of Dreaming and Dreamtime are often
used interchangeably to describe systems of Aboriginal
belief and spirituality. It is fair, however, to say that
Dreaming and Dreamtime speak to two very different
concepts.
Dreamtime, on the other hand, is often referenced as
a quantifiable and decidedly historic period of time.
Similar dreaming concepts stand at the heart of Torres
Strait Islander spirituality.
Each language group has its own word to describe
the complexity of Dreaming and Dreamtime. Examples
include Tjukurpa in Central Australia, Bugari in Broome,
and Wongar in north-east Arnhem Land.
These three articles are a good resource to extend your
understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
spirituality:
1. Dreamtime and the Dreaming: an introduction
2. Dreamtime and the Dreaming: who dreamed up these
terms?
3. ‘Dreamings’ and dreaming narratives: what’s the
relationship?
Dreaming stories
Connections to spiritual beings, ancestors and natural
phenomena are often represented, shared and communicated verbally through stories. The knowledge
represented in these stories shapes Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander law, both its history and future. Dreaming
or creation stories, as they are often called, are a way
of passing on important knowledge, cultural values and
belief systems from one generation to the next.
Storytelling is important for the holding, maintenance,
and passing on of important knowledge in many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and
societies. There are often protocols around who owns
and can tell these stories.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories are
designed to explain some facet of the environment. This
can be weather, geography, animal behavior or any other
information that is often relayed through scientific means,
by many contemporary Western societies.
Songlines is a word used to describe the way knowledge
is kept and passed on to people from other clans and
tribes through the sharing of stories and song. Songlines
and Dreaming stories are closely related but not the same
thing.
It is important that Dreaming, Dreamtime and creation
stories are respected properly in the classroom and not
likened to fairytales and myths.
Endnotes
1 Rose, D. (1996). Nourishing terrains: Australian
Aboriginal views of landscape and wilderness (p. 7).
Canberra, ACT: Australian Heritage Commission.
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015
The term Dreaming is often used in to describe an ongoing, familial relationship to Country, and all the plant,
animal and geographical ‘others’ that share Country.
Dreaming is often depicted in song, art, dance and story;
representing Aboriginal ways of knowing and being with
Country. Dreaming can also be used by individuals to
refer to either their own Dreaming or their community’s
Dreaming.
Dreamtime is a point in the oral histories of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people where the world was changed
and shaped. This is much more easily linked to the sense
of historic spirituality that exists in Western societies.
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