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Educating future custodians

Future generations connected to their Country with access to education 'both ways'

Accessing education can be difficult for the children of Indigenous rangers working in Arnhem Land’s outstations. The homeland communities that house ranger bases can be incredibly remote and often too small to qualify for full-time public school funding from the government. As a result, rangers have to move away and into towns in order to enrol their children in full-time education. Here, parents have fewer opportunities to work and their children have a lower chance of gaining critical knowledge of their Country, culture, community and identity.Orphaned Country is considered by Bininj (Indigenous people) to be one of the biggest threats to the health of the landscape. Elders want to see the next generation of Traditional Custodians growing up and being educated on Country, in both local Indigenous ecological knowledge and the Australian Curriculum, so that they grow up strong in both worlds.The Northern Territory has the lowest proportion of students at or above the national minimum standards for literacy and numeracy, and attendance rates for Indigenous students across very remote areas of the NT are around 55 per cent—well below the national average of 80 per cent. Establishing locally delivered, bi-cultural education addresses these low rates of formal education in remote Indigenous communities, enabling rangers to continue to live and work on Country, and ensuring that critical cultural knowledge is passed down and practised.

Bi-cultural education involves children, from early learners to high school students, regularly spending time out on their ancestral lands with Elders, community members and rangers. It’s about getting out of the classroom to hear stories, sing songs, gather food and learn how to manage these lands. Then, contextually appropriate content can be incorporated into the Australian Curriculum, making for a more engaging school experience overall.KKT's very first project in this space was to establish the Nawarddeken Academy: a community-owned, bi-cultural, independent primary school in the heart of West Arnhem Land. From a one-teacher classroom under a tarp, it has grown to three schools in three communities, a strong team of teaching and support staff, around 60 students and an average attendance rate of 89 per cent while children are in community.

The Karrkad Kanjdji Trust recognises the implicit link between cultural heritage, community strength and conservation outcomes, and thereby supports bi-cultural education projects where government funding is insufficient. Together with our partners, we are investing in the next generation of rangers and custodians.

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