Indigenous Community Development through Traditional Games

Running head: INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Indigenous development has received increased prominence within the Australian
decision-making process. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had long been
isolated from the mainstream Australia and neglected in many areas including education, health
and so on. However, in the recent few decades, however, the government has been introducing
and implementing plans that concern the Indigenous population. One of the plans has been to
focus on the Indigenous community development. Community development through games is an
innovative method to encourage the Indigenous community to come together. In this paper,
focus will be on the promotion of traditional Indigenous games as a way to strengthen
community development. Yulunga is one such traditional game of the Indigenous people that
encourages community development.
Community development is, in general terms, an approach towards health promotion of
the Indigenous people. As noted by Snijder et al., (2015), the approach was developed because it
was identified as having the “potential for extensive community participation”. Several ways
have been identified for encouraging participation of the Indigenous community in activities that
encourage development. According to Whitford and Ruhanen (2013), in a country like Australia,
Indigenous communities look for opportunities where they can “facilitate capacity building, self-
determination and reconciliation”. The authors describe that festivals and events have the
potential to bring socio-cultural advantages to Indigenous people. they give example of the
Annual Sports and Cultural Festival that was held for the Indigenous community at Brisbane.
The Early Learnings framework developed by Telstra Foundation in 2004 was initially
focused on supporting families and children but until recently, it shifted focus towards
Indigenous Community Development. Various projects were undertaken under the plan that
looked at “community-identified solutions” for the severe health and social problems of the

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INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
children coming from Indigenous background. The particular focus of these projects is on youth
participation and childhood development. Apart from the Early Learnings project, other schemes
developed by the government also indicate towards increased attention on Indigenous
community development.
As mentioned in the above sections, games and sports play an important role in engaging
the youth and children of Indigenous population in community development. Yulunga, that
means playing in the native language of the Kamilaroi or Gamori people, is one such collection
of games that provides each Australian with the chance to learn more about the Indigenous
culture and tradition (Ausport.gov.au, 2018). It has over a hundred games and it is suitable for
people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. The game contains activity cards that present
information like bands of learning, background, description, equipment, variations, safety and
teaching tips (Sportingschools.gov.au, 2018). Kolap, Kai, Buroinjin and Koolchee are some
Yulunga games that are played in all Australian schools with some variations being done for the
safety of the students. These games are now played with modern equipments although the form
has remained unchanged. The games were reconstructed with help from the incomplete accounts
and with the permission of the traditional owners.
Whenever a school organizes a Yulunga game, it is recommended that the Indigenous
elders are informed about it and someone from the community is invited to participate in some
way in the games. These games are aligned with the principles of community development that
include inclusiveness, collaboration, capacity building, equity and responsiveness
(Casey.vic.gov.au, 2018). Yulunga games are most effective in capacity building as it provides
the students with an opportunity to support and strengthen their Indigenous peers and find
solutions to problems. To provide an instance, the Kolap game allows students to form teams and