[SLOW-MO GR] NAIDOC Week

[gina-RO]

What do you know about National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week??

Great question! There's always so much more to learn. 

A good place to start is over on our website here. 

Throughout this week, I'm excited to discuss on the forums and in other conversations and learn more about culture, history and the achievements and contributions of indigenous Australians - particularly women. 

Let's do this! 

[N1ghtW1ng]

Hello everyone! It's time for day 2 of NAIDOC Week Thank you to everyone @LeoTheLion @mrmusic @scared01 @cupcakes_032 who answered the first question

For NAIDOC Week, ReachOut interviewed the co-CEO of AIME, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, Bianca Hunt. AIME works with Indigenous Australians to help them get from high school into university and continue their education. You can learn more about AIME on their website here.

What did you think of the video? Is there anything that caught your eye?

[gina-RO]

I really love this video of Bianca Hunt and what she has to say about inspiring others to believe in themselves - what a beautiful way to aspire to live! 

What do others think? 

Have others heard of AIME before? 

It's a great program that might be offered at your universities and schools? 

[ErinsAntics]

What do you know about NAIDOC Week? Will you be attending any events?

I know it is a time to pay our respects to the original owners of the land and celebrate their traditions.

At this stage I won't be attending any events but I did stumble upon an event yesterday in the city and it was great to observe many people celebrating NAIDOC week.

[gina-RO]

The video can be found on our site here 

 

[letitgo]

Hey everyone! I love the idea of a slow mo GR, and I especially love that we're focusing on NADOC week!

What do you know about NAIDOC Week? Will you be attending any events?

As far as I'm aware, NAIDOC week is all about celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women. Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong. I want to learn!

At this stage I won't be going to any events, but one of my friends went to a march in Melbourne on Friday. It sounded great!

I'm also really hoping to read more books by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For instance, I read That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott a few years back and enjoyed it...  

[ErinsAntics]

Today's question *drumroll* Inspirational people are all around us. Do you know an inspirational Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander woman? Why?

[ErinsAntics]

Inspirational people are all around us. Do you know an inspirational Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander woman? Why?

The first person who comes to mind is the Olympian Cathy Freeman, I remember watching her at the 2000 Sydney Olympics race and thinking is was so awesome that she could not represent Australia but also her people on her home soil. Even at a young age it helped me understand that skin colour shouldn't matter and we should be proud of everyone's acheivments. 

On a smaller scale last semester I did a prac placement at a community centre that had a large indigenous outreach and every Monday they would do an art class for indigenous women of the community to attend. These women's lives hadn't been the easiest but they came each week and had worked to build up a community where they could chat and make some amazing traditional (or traditional inspired) artwork. Some had been a part of the stolen generation and when they spoke about it there was no negativity just that it had happened and they were moving forward. It helped realise just how strong these women were and the importance of their community.

[mrmusic]

Sorry I’m a bit late with this one!

What did you think of the video? Is there anything that caught your eye?

There were a couple of take-home points for me: first, the importance of a positive role model, particularly when you are young. Ms Hunt mentioned her mother as a positive influence on her life, and particularly the inspiration to “follow the leader”. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to have a supportive family as a role model, so it is really important that one finds a suitable role model outside of their family. The second big thing that jumped out at me was when Ms Hunt said “being proud of who they are” and not letting stigma or towards a particular person or group of people get in the way of achieving goals - obviously a lot easier said than done in a lot of cases!

Inspirational people are all around us. Do you know an inspirational Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander woman? Why?

I have to say that apart from Cathy Freeman who @ErinsAntics mentioned above, I really don’t have the knowledge about Indigenous culture or people to be able to answer this question (as much as I would like to). The women who win awards at the NAIDOC Week ceremony would be quite inspirational due to the nature of the event, however they are only a small snapshot of all of the inspirational ATSI women out there! I’d love to know more!

[N1ghtW1ng]

That's awesome @ErinsAntics What was the event like? Also thank you for posting yesterday's question! That's amazing about your prac, what a wonderful experience to hear the stories of these women. It sounds like an amazing experience.

@letitgo I believe NAIDOC week is for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples but it's this year in particular that focuses on women. The Deadman Dance sounds interesting, what was it about?

@mrmusic Cathy Freeman is definitely a wonderful and inspiration woman! I heard a little about her during high school but I didn't really know much about her (I was not into sports, at all). There are so many amazing and inspirational women out there, I'm excited to learn more about them! The awards ceremony will definitely be a great starting place for communities.