The theme for this year’s NAIDOC week was Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! NAIDOC is a national event held in the first week of July each year to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands peoples. It is an opportunity for everyone to learn about the oldest continuous living cultures on earth. This year’s theme is about action – what we can all do to learn more about First Nations cultures and to be active, respectful participants in the rich culture of this country.
For NAIDOC Week, we started with templates of small, stylised figures. Each figure had a Noongar symbol on their clothing. Each child then personalised the figures, to express what they thought about standing up for others, learning about Noongar culture and being strong in themselves. Some classes made paper chains and displayed the figures in their classrooms. At the Rockingham site, the figures were collaged onto a life-size cut-out of three children to create an outdoor display.
