Through the grandmother's story, viewers discover the lasting power and tenacity of Indigenous people. The narrative demonstrates how the difficulties and misfortunes endured by past generations can be converted into sources of motivation and optimism.

What motivates you to better understand Indigenous perspectives? In what ways do you or can you engage with the Aboriginal Country that you live and/or work?

What are the top two factors that Grieves (2014) discovered are most important for Indigenous peoples’ wellbeing?Group of answer choicesKnowledge of family history and spiritualityKnowledge of oneself and knowledge of family historySpirituality and knowledge of an Indigenous group’s history and cultureSpirituality and knowledge of the environment

How did Native Americans’ conceptions of the spiritual world influence their daily lives?Most Native North Americans were animists who believed that the natural world was suffused with spiritual power. They interpreted dreams and visions to understand the world, and their rituals appeased guardian spirits to ensure successful hunts and other forms of good fortune. Although their views were subject to countless local variations, certain patterns were widespread.Women and men interacted differently with these spiritual forces. In farming communities, women grew crops and maintained hearth, home, and village. Native American ideas about female power linked their bodies’ generative functions with the earth’s fertility, and rituals like the Green Corn Ceremony — a summer ritual of purification and renewal — helped to sustain the life-giving properties of the world around themFor men, spiritual power was invoked in hunting and war. To ensure success in hunting, men took care not to offend the spirits of the animals they killed. They performed rituals before, during, and after a hunt to acknowledge the power of those guardian spirits, and they believed that, when an animal had been killed properly, its spirit would rise from the earth unharmed. Success in hunting and prowess in war were both interpreted as signs of sacred protection and power.Ideas about war varied widely. War could be fought for geopolitical reasons — to gain ground against an enemy — but for many groups, warfare was a crucial rite of passage for young men, and raids were conducted to allow warriors to prove themselves in battle. Motives for war could be highly personal; war was often more like a blood feud between families than a contest between nations. If a community lost warriors in battle, it might retaliate by capturing or killing a like number of warriors in response — a so-called mourning war. Some captives were adopted into new communities, while others were enslaved or tortured.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led organisations and agencies provide credible and relevant information for learning and furthering understanding of history and culture. Access the websites of the following organisations and briefly discuss the work they do within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities:Healing FoundationCreative SpiritsDeadly Story

“There are words used to describe the features of a Country, like a human spine. A hill or a mountain is a backbone. Because that’s the part that holds you together.” – Margaret Kemarre Turner OAM, Advisor and great grandmother1. In what ways might learning or speaking First Languages support a sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘empowerment’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?