Buckskin (ATOM Study Guide)

Jack Buckskin grew up on a diet of family and football, before life-changing events led Jack on a new path. His life is now dedicated to renewing a once-strong Aboriginal language and culture, and to inspiring the people of Adelaide to connect with Kaurna – the language and culture of his ancestors – and of the country on which the city of Adelaide now sits.

Jack Buckskin is the sole teacher of a once-extinct language. From the northern Adelaide suburb of Salisbury, Jack's mission is to teach the Kaurna language, the language of his ancestors, to as many people as he can in his lifetime. But this is not easy; the language was driven to near-extinction over a century ago. Now, Jack and his fellow language speakers are sculpting a new Kaurna language and culture, and through that are bringing a new way of being to the youth of suburban Adelaide in the form of a new Aboriginal identity – and with that, hope.

Curriculum Links:
Buckskin could be used with middle and senior-secondary students in studies of Australian History and English.