Aboriginal cultural games, epistemic violence and education in times of conflict

Abstract

This paper examines the historical exclusion and the persistent contemporary marginalisation of Aboriginal cultural games within Australian education, with a specific focus on how settler colonial structures and epistemic violence have shaped curriculum, pedagogy, knowledge systems and being. It also explores the role of Aboriginal cultural games as pedagogies of refusal, wellbeing, and cultural continuity in contexts of educational disruption and conflict. A qualitative, decolonising critical review methodology was employed, drawing on Indigenous scholarship and epistemologies, historical literature, education policy documents, and literature on settler colonialism, epistemic violence, and education in conflict-affected contexts. The analysis is further informed by Yarning methodology with five Aboriginal Elders, whose cultural knowledges and lived experiences provide an Indigenous epistemological grounding through which the role of cultural games is interpreted across education, wellbeing and intergenerational learning. The study highlights ways in which Aboriginal cultural games have been historically excluded or marginalised through settler colonial education systems that privilege Eurocentric knowledge. Despite contemporary curriculum reforms, inclusion remains inconsistent and often tokenistic. Elders’ perspectives highlight that cultural games are deeply embedded in Law, kinship, and Country, functioning as embodied pedagogies that support social and emotional wellbeing, identity formation, and learning. In contexts of disruption or conflict, these games operate as protective and trauma-informed practices that foster resilience, belonging, and intergenerational continuity. The study is limited by its reliance on secondary literature and a small number of Elder contributions through Yarning, which, while culturally authoritative, does not claim generalisability. Instead, the study privileges validity and Indigenous epistemologies over conventional empirical generalisation. By framing Aboriginal cultural games as pedagogies of refusal and wellbeing, this paper challenges epistemic violence within mainstream education and argues for the central integration of Indigenous knowledge systems in curriculum design. It concludes that culturally grounded, embodied practices such as Aboriginal games are essential to reimagining education as a space for healing, cultural continuity, and transformation, particularly in contexts shaped by historical and ongoing colonial conflict. Aboriginal cultural games in Australia are more than recreational practices; they are culturally embedded pedagogies grounded in Law, Kinship, and Country that transmit knowledge, ethical frameworks, and social responsibilities across generations. Within settler colonial education systems, these practices have been historically excluded and continue to be marginalised through forms of epistemic violence that privilege Eurocentric knowledge and undermine Indigenous epistemologies. This paper examines the historical exclusion and contemporary positioning of Aboriginal cultural games within Australian education, and explores their role as pedagogies of resilience, wellbeing, and cultural continuity, particularly in contexts of disruption and conflict. The review indicates that, despite policy efforts toward inclusion, Aboriginal cultural games remain inconsistently represented and are frequently tokenised within curricula. Elders emphasise that these games function as embodied pedagogies that support identity formation, social and emotional wellbeing, and intergenerational knowledge transmission. In contexts of systemic disruption, they also operate as trauma-informed practices that foster resilience, belonging, and cultural continuity. The study is limited by its reliance on secondary sources and a small number of Elder contributions. However, it prioritises validity and Indigenous epistemologies over statistical generalisation, offering culturally grounded interpretive insight rather than empirical generalisability. This paper reframes Aboriginal cultural games as critical sites of refusal and wellbeing, challenging epistemic violence within mainstream education. It argues for their central integration into curricula as part of broader efforts to reimagine education as a space for psychological healing, cultural sustainability, and transformative justice.