NAIDOC week is being celebrated from this week, from 3 - 10 July. This year’s theme is Get up! Stand up! Show up!
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. It began from a protest movement starting in the 1920s. Aboriginal communities were wanting to boycott Australia Day. From 1938 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held to as an ongoing protest. In 1975, it became a week-long event and transformed into what we know as NAIDOC week today.
NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate the oldest living and continuous culture in the world. It is also a week to encourage, celebrate and participate in the change that we have seen over generations, the change that is an ongoing effort to empower Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people.
Wandering what you can do to embody the theme of this year's NAIDOC week?
Here's some ideas from us at TJC!
1. Attend a NAIDOC week event. Find out what's on in your local area.
2. Open your meetings, events and gatherings with an Acknowledgment of Country. Have a look at some guidelines and suggestions from Reconciliation Australia.
3. Support Indigenous businesses! See Supply Nation’s business directory and discover some amazing Indigenous-owned services or products.
4. Celebrate Indigenous art. Visit the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander exhibitions of museums and galleries.
5. Learn more about the Country on which you live and work using the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia.
6. Do your digging! Buy authentic Indigenous products. Before purchasing, be sure to look into the supply chain and check that the item was manufactured here in Australia by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
See https://www.naidoc.org.au/ for more info on NAIDOC Week.
