Grandmother has been here before. Her knowledge echoes through deep time. She carries the stories of generations.
She has seen vast changes to the world. She brings wisdom from the Old people who taught her, and new knowledge from the grandchildren she is teaching now. She can move across generations of time in a single thought. And she keeps learning because she keeps listening.
That's the literal Grandmother. Now think metaphorically.
In your research, your classroom, your work: what have you seen before that others are treating as new? What does the long view change? What are you learning from the people around you?
Listen to Murrawarri Elder Aunty Doris Shillingsworth
Pattern thinking with Grandmother
Pattern thinking asks you to hold four perspectives at once, allowing you to see further than any single perspectives allows. These questions will help you find the connections – between perspectives, places, what you know and what you haven’t seen yet.
What does Grandmother know that Granddaughter doesn't - and what does Granddaughter see that Grandmother might miss?
What changes when you bring deep time into a problem everyone is treating as new?
Whose long memory is in the room - and is it being heard?
What connections do you see to other Entities and places - and where do they lead?
Kin pair
Grandmother and Granddaughter are a kin pair
The two perspectives teach us more together than they do alone. One carries the depth of the past, the other the possibilities of the future. Neither is complete without the other.
In practice
See how others have brought Grandmother into their research and teaching.
Engaging men and boys in innovative interventions to end gender-based violence
McLachlan, F., & O’Leary, P. (2026)
An Australian Indigenous Knowledge System and Methodology
Raciti, M., Gilbey, K., Manathunga, C., Qi, J. (2026)
It’s Complicated: Roleplaying Development Scenarios with the Kin and Country Framework
Ey, M., & UoN Discipline of Geography and Environmental Studies. (2026)
The Neuroinclusion Project’s Introduction to Neurodiversity: A foundation module for creating inclusive environments for neurodivergent people.
Tan, D., Star, A., Woodington, T., Ezzy, T. (2026)
Waranara (library) Indigenous resource repository
Lumby, N., Vickery, S., Keys, L., Cleary, A., Milliss, E., Tynan, L., Bishop, M., Caldis, S., Mitchell, C. (2026)
Adapting Grandmother to your Kin and Country
Grandmother is just one name for this perspective. Each Country has its own. For example, on Dharug Country, Aunty Leanne King shares that the Grandmother perspective might belong to an ancient scar tree – it holds stories of change and upheaval, a stable presence rooted in Country. As you bring the framework into your own context, listen to the knowledge holders of the Country you’re on. They’ll know who holds Grandmother’s perspective in their place.
Here are some resources to help you deepen your understanding of the Framework for teaching.
Learn more
How to Adapt the Entities for the Kin and Country Framework
Tynan, L., & Bishop, M. (2026)
How to Build a Scenario for the Kin and Country Framework
Tynan, L., & Bishop, M. (2026)
Teaching Guide for the Kin and Country Framework
Tynan, L., Bishop, M., Milliss, E., Lumby, N., & Rana, L. (2026).
Teaching the Kin and Country Framework with Neurodivergent Learners
Tan, D. W., Tynan, L., & Bishop, M. (2026)