The school teacher's union has backed First Nations advocates over a new board game distributed to schools which "whitewashes... the true experiences of colonisation in this country".
The game, "First Fleet – Will you survive?", was developed by the think-tank Institute for Public Affairs and is aimed at students as young as Year 4. On Tuesday, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation said the game has already been distributed to a number of primary schools, accompanied by teacher resources.
NATSIEC chief executive Sharon Davis said the game presents Port Jackson as a "prize" and, while detailing the hardships of convicts transported on the First Fleet, makes no mention of the impact of the colonisation on Indigenous people.
They said the "simplistic glorification" of the First Fleet's journey and arrival as an 'amazing voyage' "completely disregards the violent invasion of Aboriginal lands and the ongoing harm our communities continue to face".
"First Nations children playing this game risk psychological harm, as it forces them to engage with a distorted version of history that erases our ancestors' strength and resistance, along with our collective pain," they said.
"It sends the harmful message that Aboriginal peoples' lived experiences do not matter."
Institute of Public Affairs executive director Scott Hargreaves told National Indigenous Times the board game is "an apolitical, factual exploration of an important time in our past and a way to encourage students to engage and learn the full picture of our history".
"The board game It does not purport to represent all perspectives, or the effects of colonisation on Indigenous Australians.
Mr Hargreaves said the game "does not promote any notion of rights or wrongs of the times", in reference to a period in which many Indigenous people were murdered, violently driven from their country, or forcibly separated from their families.
"There has been an overwhelmingly positive response from many teachers and parents to the First Fleet learning materials the IPA has developed. In fact, a number of schools have contacted our office to order more copies of the board game," he said.
Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe told National Indigenous Times "curriculum remains the responsibility of the teaching profession, not ideological think tanks".
"While the AEU has become aware in recent days of this game, we have not heard of additional copies being ordered, nor have we heard about an 'overwhelmingly positive' response to the game," she said.
"Frankly, this is a blatant attempt to revive the Howard-era culture wars that are divisive and destructive and need to be left where they belong - in the ash heap of history.
"The IPA is a right wing think tank which has prior form in trying to influence what is happening with curriculum in schools. We reject their attempts to inflict their ideology on students via this game or indeed any other material that they distribute to schools."
Ms Haythorpe said teachers, principals and education support personnel have "a deep responsibility to build the skills, knowledge and understanding of Australia's students, to help shape the world that our students live in".
"This means facing hard and often uncomfortable truths about the colonial history of this nation," she said.
"Education provides a path to knowledge, opportunity, and social progress for all. It is a powerful tool that can challenge biases, dismantle stereotypes, and create inclusive environments.
"With that opportunity comes immense responsibility - to unflinchingly examine the truth of colonisation, and to ensure that the complexities and contradictions of contemporary Australian society are understood in the classroom and beyond."
