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Introduction

Please watch the video below for a short overview of the web site

Dr. Michelle Evans is originally from the Hunter Valley NSW. Now based in Bathurst, she works as an academic, writer, facilitator and cultural producer. Michelle holds a Senior Lectureship in Leadership at Charles Sturt University, is a Fellow at Melbourne Business School and Fellow of the Research Centre for Leadership in Action at New York University. Michelle is Trustee of the Yvonne Cohen Award for Indigenous Creative Young People. Michelle is also an Indigenous alumni of Charles Sturt gaining a Bachelor of Arts (Communication - Theatre and Media) in 1994.

Towards Cultural Competence

Implemented in 2009, the Charles Sturt Indigenous Education Strategy and its recommendations provide a comprehensive whole-of-institution framework for engagement with local First Nations communities, positioning Charles Sturt as a lead provider of First Nations education, research and the cultural competence training of professionals of the future.

Charles Sturt has an ongoing commitment to reconciliation and social justice, and this is demonstrated through supporting the Charles Sturt University Strategy implemented by the Vice Chancellor and Academic Senate.

The Curriculum Guidelines for the Incorporation of Indigenous Australian Content into Charles Sturt Onshore Undergraduate Programs was developed by the School of Indigenous Australian Studies in collaboration with Academic Senate. The guidelines provide a resource to assist academic staff, educational designers and others in the development of Indigenous Australian content at subject and course level and strategies for effective delivery and assessment of student learning.

Charles Sturt University

RECONCILIATION STATEMENT

There can be no reconciliation without social justice and there can be no social justice without reconciliation
(Mick Dodson, National Reconciliation Convention, Melbourne 1997)

As sites of critical learning, universities are powerful agents for social change and have a responsibility to provide an environment free from racism in all of its forms
(Wright, J 2002, Apartheid: Australian Style)

RECOGNITION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMITMENT

Charles Sturt University is committed to the process of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As Australia's leading national university of inland Australia, it recognises the particular role and responsibility this tertiary educational institution has in promoting social justice and human rights for Indigenous Australians, both nationally and within the footprint of Charles Sturt University.

Charles Sturt University recognises and acknowledges:

• the diversity and unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of Australia and the islands of the Torres Strait, in accordance with local Indigenous laws and customs
• that connection to the land sustains contemporary Indigenous cultures, languages, art, spirituality, laws and customs
• the historical and ongoing impact on the lives and futures of Indigenous Australians of the political, social and economic process of colonisation
• the fundamental importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to the heritage and identity of Australia, and the valuable and dynamic contribution of Indigenous people and cultures to the community and life of the University
• the human right of Indigenous Australian peoples to self-determination, to equitable participation in the community and the University and equitable access to resources and services
• the significance of the University's role in the reconciliation process in building an informed and mature society that acknowledges the past, understands the quintessential connection between the past and present, and is committed to ethical action, social justice and human rights
• that reconciliation in practice is a shared responsibility requiring commitment to a whole-of-institution approach and active engagement with the Indigenous community

This statement of reconciliation was adopted by University Council on Friday, 7 December, 2007.

Acknowledgments

Charles Sturt University campuses are located within the area occupied by NSW's largest Aboriginal group, the Wiradjuri, extending over land in the south western slopes region from the Blue Mountains in the east, Hay in the west, north to Nyngan and south to Albury-Wodonga, and bordering on the Brindabella Ranges and Kosciusko National Park.

The Wiradjuri Nation area has been described as "land of the three rivers": the Wambuul (later known as the Macquarie), the Galari (later known as the Lachlan) and the Marrambidya (later known as the Murrumbidgee). The Murray River forms the Wiradjuri's southern boundary, while the change from woodland to open grassland forms the eastern boundary. It was a land once described by early European explorers as 'fertile, abundant in fish and game'. Wiradjuri is also the name of the language used by the traditional owners of the area, which is also rich in story and song.

You can see which nation you are locating in via the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia

Please click on the link to see our NSW campuses: Our Campuses

Charles Sturt also has campuses outside the Wiradjuri area, in Canberra, Port Macquarie, Goulburn and Parramatta. We acknowledge the Indigenous peoples of these areas... the Ngunnawal of Canberra, the Birapi/Biripai of Port Macquarie, Gundungurra of Goulburn and the Eora/Darug of the Sydney basin. We honour and respect these nations and extend that respect to the Elders of these nations both past and present.

Contact

Lloyd Dolan

• Academic Lead (First Nations Curriculum)
• Division of Learning and Teaching
• Phone: 02 6933 2111
• Email: ldolan@csu.edu.au