naidoc week Archives - Early Learning Childhood Education

In 2015 the National NAIDOC theme is We All Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate.

Taking place from July 5-12, 2015, NAIDOC Week, as always, presents educators across the country with the opportunity to discuss and celebrate Australia’s rich indigenous culture.

If you haven’t celebrated NAIDOC Week before, NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’, who would organise the events for this week of celebration, but has since become the name of the week itself. The week is dedicated to activities centred on supporting and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The NAIDOC website suggests a few points on how you can go about celebrating this year’s theme:

Invite elders or others to talk about local sacred sites or Indigenous culture
Learn the Traditional names and stories for places, mountains, rivers etc around your region

To celebrate Indigenous culture in a more general sense you might like to:

Read a Dreamtime story
Create your own Aboriginal art
Listen to Indigenous music
Take children to visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest if possible

Expanding our knowledge and understanding of our history and culture is such a special part of learning, and being Australian we have a rich Indigenous history that deserves to be recognised and celebrated.

Here we also have for you some ideas, that can be used for celebrating NAIDOC week at home, in a centre, for a school holiday program or an incursion.

NAIDOC Week is the perfect time to do this and you’ll find plenty more information and resources via their website: naidoc.org.au

It’s a special time around July each year when we celebrate NAIDOC Week around Australia – NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’, who would organise the events for this week of celebration but has since become the name of the week itself.

From July 6-13, 2014 all Australians come together to take part in activities to celebrate and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The NAIDOC website offers a range of suggestions to help you come up with ideas to join in the celebration of Australia’s Indigenous culture. Here are a few of our favourites:

Display Indigenous posters around your class room
Invite local Indigenous elders to speak at your school or workplace.
Listen to Indigenous music.
Research the traditional Indigenous owners of your area.
Study Aboriginal arts and crafts.
Read a Dreamtime story.
Create your own Aboriginal art.
Visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest.
Learn the meanings of local or national Aboriginal place names.
Invite Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander dancers to perform.

The discussion of NAIDOC and Aboriginal culture fits well with our previous blog about music and its benefits, as song, music and dance are at the heart of Indigenous culture. Song is seen as a means of expression, along with the art of performance and dance to tell a story. They are so important to Aboriginal people and often are at the core of special ceremonies, often adding very special significance to the music itself.

It is interesting to note that while we often see music, art, performance, dance and storytelling as separate things, the Aboriginal viewpoint sees them as a whole. And what a wonderful perspective that is to have! In some instances, Aboriginal elders may sing and paint the story as they sing about it. The stories and music will often focus on community, culture and their relationship with the land.

Read more about Australia’s Indigenous ceremonies, Indigenous performers and NAIDOC Week via these useful links:

http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-ceremony
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Indigenous-Australia/

http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/trade.html

Tag: naidoc week

Learn, Respect and Celebrate – NAIDOC Week 2015

Celebrating NAIDOC Week