Dust Echoes are a collection of some the Dreamtime stories from Arnhem Land.

The
Dreamtime stories explain aspects of Aboriginal life such as: food, work, family, society, laws
and rules, duties, spirituality, education, technology, relationships, roles and emotions. These
stories are visually engaging, set to fantastic music and rich in content. Some of the stories
however may not be appropriate for junior primary. The stories serve as a tool to provide
insight into the traditional life, culture and mythology of the Aboriginal people.

The knowledge, understanding and skills this resource will help to develop will include the
development of inquiry questions. Through exposure to this resource I want to ignite the
students curiosity and desire to learn more regarding the traditional life our Indigenous
people. The students will be able to build their literacy skills with regard to the
comprehension of texts and in turn produce written or verbal responses. They will think
critically and creatively and develop intercultural understanding as they learn to value the
languages and beliefs of others. Through this unit of work, the students social awareness will
grow as they explore and compare our cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices.

I would utilise this resource in the questioning stage of the Humanities and Social Science
Curriculum. The Indigenous culture was rich and incredibly valuable to the continuance of
the environment, they followed complex laws and customs. The Dreamtime stories are the
creation stories and are very important to the Indigenous people. They can be equated to
the stories in the Bible or the Koran. There is so much to know, the students can learn to
formulate investigative questions regarding people, events, places and issues.

This resource can be used to develop an engaging and creative pedagy as there are many
levels of analysis to choose from. For instance, we can examine these stories from a
philosophical, artistic or cultural perspective depending on the maturity of the students.
Through their questioning the students should start to understand the changing nature of
culture.

Cross-curricular links would include design and technology, art, english and drama. The
strengths are that the resource is very engaging and it ensures the continuity of historical
stories and culture. The limitations are that some of the videos are violent with more mature
themes.

I chose a story about the Mimis as it was age appropriate, about relationships and not
needing any adaptations. The story is about a little boy who feels inadequate. He wants to
be a great hunter like his father. The little boy lost his joy, and went sadly wondering around
one night only to be found by the Mimis. The Mimis are the joyful protectors of the land. The
father was worried about his son and started to look for him, he heard him underground so
he sang his song and sent for him to come back. The boy appreciated that his father loved
him and his confidence and joy was restored. Students around the age of seven to eight years
old will be able to relate to the simplicity of this story. Together we can explore the
complexities of relationships and the purpose of Dreamtime stories.