Lockdown won't dampen NAIDOC spirit

It’s NAIDOC Week! With Greater Sydney in lockdown, we may not be able to come together to recognise this important week in the ways we planned, but our spirit remains.

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia and came about after almost a century of protest and activism for the rights of Aboriginal people in Australia. What started as a day of protest and mourning early in the first half of the 1900s has evolved into a week of activities that highlight not only activism and a fight for rights, but also celebration and recognition.

This year’s theme, Heal Country!, calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction. It emphasises that Country sustains life in every aspect - spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally and calls for all Australians to embrace First Nation’s cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia's national heritage.

Council is recognising NAIDOC Week by encouraging you to take time to reflect on the theme and underlying spirit of the Week. Visit the NAIDOC website and understand our local history by exploring the Aboriginal Heritage Office website.

Unfortunately many of our local events have been cancelled or postponed, but check out the NAIDOC Events page and the Gai-mariagal Festival to see if you can participate in an online activity or workshop.

Our libraries are currently closed, but Library2U can deliver books by Aboriginal writers and artists right to your home. Check out these great titles.

Bushwalks are a perfect way to while away the hours during lockdown, so why not head out on these amazing local walks that highlight Aboriginal heritage.

Our youngest residents attending our child care centres will spend the week on a curriculum focused on the themes celebrating and recognising the world’s oldest continuous culture.

Activities in childcare centres include creating transient art with found materials through painting, threading and weaving. Children will make damper and learn a new song called “waka nini yana”.

The children at Narrabeen will focus on the theme Heal Country! to create a “sea of hands” art installation for the centre foyer.

Children attending our Vacation Care services will also participate in fun activities that celebrate Indigenous culture and food.

With many local events, workshops and celebrations cancelled or postponed, you can still get in the spirit by listening to local Aboriginal artist Michael Birk’s song, We are but guests here, recorded as part of Triple J Unearthed.