History Versus Heritage

When teaching history to a class the lesson can often become a personal narrative of how one views the past. History is much different than Heritage. History is the facts, the non-biased account of what really happened. However, people have different beliefs, ideas, and customs. Heritage is often brought into the mix when telling a historical account. Heritage is personal narratives that sneak their way into history. For example, I am an American and when I was in primary school we learned that Christopher Columbus founded America in 1492. Whether the founders were the natives or Columbus is another story, but that date is the history that I learned. My heritage in relation to the history would be a story of how I am affected by that historical event. The fact that Columbus found the Americas affects my existence alone and is therefore part of my heritage in some way.

When teaching history versus heritage to students I can make sure to include how the Aboriginals view this concept. Aboriginals tell their histories by telling dreamtime stories. Dreamtime stories explain how things came to be, depict an important value of a certain tribe, or explain a person’s birth, conception, or skin totem. They are essentially accounts of history as the Aboriginals see it. Here is an example of a dreamtime story. Aboriginals also view their history as circular whereas westerners view it as linear. This means that Aboriginals believe that history is a cycle. What happens today not only affects the future, but today was affected by the past. Just as we pass down our histories and heritage to younger generations, Aboriginals pass down their dreamtime stories to make sure important information, cultural aspects, and certain beliefs are continued throughout the years (Australian Government 2008). When helping students relate to this topic have them write a dreamtime story of their own that relates to their life. 

This link will take you to a youtube clip what will give more information about Aboriginal dreamtime as well as give you more information about Aboriginal culture and life (Renderyard 2012).

The picture above is an example of an Aboriginal dreamtime story (Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy n.d.).

References:

Australian Govenrment (2008), The Dreaming.  http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/dreaming. [Accessed 27 April 2014].

Cloudskipper Dreaming 2011, video. How the Kangaroo got its pouch YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sWFAGGWvUA.  viewed 27 April 2014.

Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy n.d., Wayamba the Turtle. http://www.aboriginalaustralianart.com/dreamtime_art.php [Accessed 28 April 2014].

Renderyard 2012, video The Dreamtime, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQDoVguoIk. viewed 22 May 2014.