CELEBRATION of 70 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and survival was centre stage last week, NAIDOC activities in Swan Hill.
Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! was the theme of a week of events for National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration (NAIDOC), with organisers hoping the celebrations brought Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities closer together.
“NAIDOC Week is obviously a really special and important time for our communities to celebrate and be proud,” Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS) Swan Hill Aboriginal liaison officer Jacinta Chaplin
“It’s a time when we come together as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and enjoy the culture and traditions we’ve practiced for tens of thousands of years – and we love sharing that with the wider community as well.
“NAIDOC is an opportunity to understand each other better, show support and solidarity and to celebrate a culture that we should all be proud of and enjoy.”
Ms Chaplin said the opportunity around a national celebration of First Nations culture was to amplify the voices and messages of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous community.
“This year’s theme, Get Up, Stand Up and Show Up is extremely powerful – it’s an opportunity for everyone to reflect and make a commitment to understanding,” she said.
“It’s not just big-picture change, that needs to happen – it’s up to every individual to hear each other’s voices and be willing to genuinely work together for understanding and change. Now is the time.”
A flag raising ceremony and barbecue lunch was also shared during celebrations in Robinvale, hosted by Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-Op.
