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Tarwangin - Talking To Me - NAIDOC 3 July
In this edition read about the history of NAIDOC and see what's on.
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Minister urges Western Australians to celebrate NAIDOC Week
Indigenous Affairs Minister Kim Hames has joined with Glenda Kickett, NAIDOC Perth Committee chairperson, in calling upon all Western Australians to join in the NAIDOC Week activities, starting on Sunday July 5.
Dr Hames said the theme for 2009 NAIDOC Week: Honouring our Elders, Nurturing our Youth, would resonate with Western Australia’s multicultural society.
“NAIDOC Week is about celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, the richness, the diversity and the very positive contribution these peoples have made and continue to make in our community,” he said.
“Aboriginal culture is the oldest living culture on earth and as Western Australians we all benefit from sharing the history and the experience.
“I feel all of us can join with NAIDOC and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in showing respect for our elders and taking special care of our young people.”
Ms Kickett welcomed the support of the Minister and recognised the plethora of quiet achievers in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
“There are so many stand-out Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander role models, including our elders and our young people,” Ms Kickett said.
“These role models break down the negative stereotypes and have a deep commitment to achieve a reconciled community.
“NAIDOC Week is about celebrating these people, sharing their achievements and even sometimes the challenges.”
NAIDOC stands for the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee.
Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.
Noongar radio back on Perth’s airwaves
Perth’s new Noongar Radio station 6NME 100.9fm will be officially launched at the NAIDOC Perth opening ceremony in Wellington Square Park on Sunday 5 July.
The station will be conducting a live outside broadcast from the event between 12 noon and 4pm to celebrate its launch.
Noongar Radio Chairman Glen Stasiuk said the station formed a partnership with the Perth NAIDOC Committee so the new station could make its first public appearance at a significant, positive, community event.
“By launching at the NAIDOC event, we will be able to celebrate this important milestone with the very community we intend to serve,” Mr Stasiuk said.
“It’ll give us the opportunity to introduce our new presenters, showcase our on-air programs and let the audience see first-hand that real Noongar Radio is back on the airwaves.”
Noongar Radio will also be launching the inaugural Battle of the Didges competition to find Perth’s deadliest didgeridoo player at the Opening Ceremony.
Entrants will be invited to perform in a ‘Didge-off’ with the winner taking home $1000 in prize money, sponsored by PEEDAC, a Perth-based Indigenous employment organisation
It is hoped the competition will become an annual event with the winner’s name engraved on a perpetual trophy to be displayed in the Noongar Radio foyer.
100.9fm Noongar Radio is operated by Noongar Media Enterprises, a company run by an all-Indigenous Board of Directors.
The station is run out of the old Aboriginal Advancement Council Building on Beaufort Street in Perth.
It receives funding from the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
Noongar Radio was given a community broadcast licence by the Australian Communication and Media Authority to fill a void in the media and provide a strong, cultural voice for the Noongar people of Perth, Western Australia.
NAIDOC events
The NAIDOC Perth website has a comprehensive list of events, some of which are listed below.
Saturday 4 July
Yanchep National Park's NAIDOC Celebration
Starts 10am, activities all day, 12 noon barbecue
Yanchep National Park, Wanneroo Road, Yanchep.
The celebrations will include face painting, boomerang throwing demonstrations, boomerang painting and a didgeridoo performance. A bush meat barbecue will also be available at 12 noon for a $2 donation. Some activities will require bookings so make sure you arrive early. Standard park entry fees ($10) apply. For more information please call Yanchep National Park on 9561 1004.
Sunday 5 July
NAIDOC Perth opening ceremony
12 noon to 4pm Wellington Square, East Perth –. More
http://www.naidocperth.org/openceremony.htm .
Hedland NAIDOC Week opening ceremony
10am, Marripikurinya Park. Free breakfast, flag-raising ceremony, traditional dancing, live hip hop, games for kids.
Monday 6 July
Albany NAIDOC Week gala dinner, NAIDOC week excellence awards
Keynote speaker Dr Richard Walley, local performers
Hedland flag-raising ceremony
Department of the Attorney-General, Courthouse, South Hedland. The ceremony will be followed by an escorted walk to Centenary Park where light refreshments will be served.
Pilbara DIA family fun day
10am-2pm, Centenary Park. Free activities including bouncy castle, sumo suits, giant chess games and hip hop workshops. Free lunch.
Geraldton NAIDOC march
The March starts at 9am and leaves from Geraldton Courts.
Geraldton Interagency flag-raising ceremony
2-4pm, SGIO Building, 45 Cathedral Avenue. Welcome to Country, flag-raising and afternoon tea for all agencies in the building.
Joondalup flag-raising ceremony
12 noon, City of Joondalup administration building, 90 Boas Avenue Joondalup.
Tuesday 7 July
City of Armadale NAIDOC Celebration
The opening ceremony starts at 10am at the Champion Centre, 76 Champion Drive, Seville Grove.
More.
City of Albany NAIDOC display
Until Thursday 9 July, the City of Albany will showcase Indigenous stories, dance, art, craft, produce and more at the Alison Hartman Gardens,
Great Southern GP Network morning tea
The morning tea starts at 9am-11am, 106 Stirling Terrace, Albany.
Kurongkurl Katitjin film festival (free)
A barbecue begins at 6pm followed by the film at 7.15pm.
Building 17, Lecture Theatre, Mount Lawley Campus, entry on Central Avenue, near corner of Alexander Drive.
Bloodwood Tree Aboriginal Association art exhibition
10am – 12 noon. Showcase of art work and basket weaving with a free morning tea, Sobering Up Shelter, Lot 5826 Forrest Circle, South Hedland.
Jacaranda local NAIDOC
10.30am to 2.30pm, Redcliffe Park, Field Street or Grand Parade, Redcliffe.
Family-friendly day to showcase, Aboriginal culture, music, and dance, art competition, display and sale, kids’ games and prizes, bouncy castle, jewellery making. Enjoy free traditional kangaroo meat, sausages, patties, damper, salads, fruit and cool drink. Bring a rug, some chairs available, bring family and friends. Art Competition with prizes and sale of art work. Free raffle, sports competitions for children all day, Aboriginal art, clothing, jewellery for sale from stalls. Contact Lyndsey or Rose on 94774346 or 94781219 or info@jacarandacommunitycentre.org.au
Perth Blues Club NAIDOC
Doors open 7.30pm, $15, show starts at 8pm and finishes at midnight
Charles Hotel - 508 Charles Street North Perth.
A night of Indigenous music and fellowship, celebrating Aboriginal contemporary and traditional musical culture. More.
City of Joondalup NAIDOC fun day
12 noon – 4pm, Craigie Leisure Centre, bush tucker barbecue, Noongar language classes, Moana dreaming, display of traditional tools and weapons, Nearer to Nature workshop, footy clinic and more. Bookings essential 9400 4912.
City of Joondalup NAIDOC print project
Until Sunday 19 July, 10am-2pm (except Mondays). blend(er) gallery, Central Walk, Joondalup. Also at ECU Mount Lawley, Breathing Space Gallery, 2 Bradford Street, Mount Lawley, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm.
Wednesday 8 July
Lunchtime forum
12:30pm, Institute of Restoration Justice and Penal Reform, Level 1, Queens Building, 97 William Street, Perth, gold coin donation. A lunchtime forum on the over-representation of Indigenous persons in the criminal justice system. Guest speakers will examine the issues behind the high rate of incarceration and over-representation of Indigenous people throughout the criminal justice system
RSVP: bsteels@iinet.net.au before 5 July.
More.
Hedland Indigenous children’s artwork showcase and traditional cook-up.
2.30-5pm, Lawson Street Youth Centre, 34 Lawson Street, South Hedland. Traditional dancing, bush tucker, display of youth artwork.
Poets’ night
Starts 8pm at The Wedge, Geraldton Museum.
City of Joondalup library story time
Whitfords Library 1.30pm and Joondalup Library 3.30pm. Bookings essential 9400 4912.
Thursday 9 July
Derbarl Yerrigan / Town of Bassendean family day
10am to 3pm - Ashfield Reserve, Ashfield.
More.
South Hedland Shopping Centre Arts and Crafts Display
Local Indigenous art and craft on display at shopping centre, children’s activities.
Honouring our Elders
10am-2pm, Karlarra House, 200 Forrest Circle, South Hedland. Traditional cook-up and live entertainment.
Free movie and sausage sizzle
5-8pm, Karlarra House, 200 Forrest Circle, South Hedland.
Hedland’s Got Talent!
5.30-8.30pm, South Hedland Shopping Centre, hosted by Hedland Youth Leadership Coalition.
Friday 10 July
Basketball competition
5pm, 34 Lawson Street, South Hedland, hosted by Town of Port Hedland and Youth Involvement Council.
NAIDOC lawn bowls challenge
12 noon, includes barbecue lunch, Wonthella Bowling Club, 290 Eight Street. Teams of four, fax 9956 2199 or email rhodda.capewell@sportshouse.net.au
Saturday 11 July
Hedland NAIDOC Awards Ceremony
6-7.30pm Gratwick Memorial Hall, Civic Centre, McGregor Street, Port Hedland. Hosted by the Hedland NAIDOC Committee to recognise the efforts and achievements of Indigenous people living in Hedland.
Common Ground dance performance
11am, Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City.
Sunday 12 July
Christian gospel concert
Gosnells Open Air Amphitheatre - Gosnells Town Centre behind the shops, alongside the river.
An event of Aboriginal Christian Gospel Artist singing and presenting items of faith. Free, 5pm - 8pm
Hedland NAIDOC closing ceremony and dinner party
7.45 – 11.30pm, Gratwick Memorial Hall, Civic Centre, McGregor Street, Port Hedland. Contemporary and traditional performances, live band, karaoke, dancing, buffet dinner. Tickets are $20 adults, $10 youth, $45 family of four, kids under 12 free. Tickets are available from DIA, Tonkin Street, South Hedland or call 9140 2577, and a limited number will be sold at the door.
History of NAIDOC
NAIDOC - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day of Observance – started officially in 1975, but its roots go much further back.
Usually celebrated annually in the first full week of July, the festival has a long history, stemming back to a human rights movement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people in the 1920s.
Leading up to the 1920s, Aboriginal Rights groups had boycotted Australia Day in protest against the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians. By the 1920s, Indigenous people recognised that the media were largely ignorant of this effort, and if the movement were to make progress, it would need to be active.
The Australian Aborigines Progressive Association(AAPA) was formed in 1924 and the Australian Aborigines League(AAL) in 1932, but their efforts were largely ignored and due to police harassment the AAPA was forced to abandon its work in 1927.
In 1932, William Cooper, founder of the AAL, and drafted a petition to send to King George V. The government of the day held that the petition fell outside its constitutional responsibilities. In 1937, Cooper submitted the petition, but the government did not forward it to the king.
On Australia Day, 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney as a prelude to a congress that was attended by about 1000 people.
This was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world and was known as the Day of Mourning. It also set the stage for later counter-movements on Australia Day which have since become more widely known as Invasion Day or Survival Day.
A week later, a deputation from the congress presented the Prime Minister with a proposed national policy for Aboriginal people.
At the time the Federal government did not hold constitutional powers in relation to Aboriginal people so the policy was rejected.
After the Day of Mourning, there was a growing feeling that it should be a regular event.
In 1939 William Cooper wrote to the National Missionary Council of Australia to seek its support in promoting an annual event.
From 1940 until 1955, the Sunday before Australia Day was the Day of Mourning, then known as Aborigines Day.
The council believed the day should become more than a protest day – also a celebration of Indigenous culture and so in 1955 the day was shifted to the first Sunday in July.
In 1957, major Aboriginal organisations, the State and Commonwealth governments and a number of church groups all supported the formation of NADOC – the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee.
At the same time, the second Sunday in July became a day of remembrance for Aboriginal people and their heritage.
1974, the NADOC Committee for the first time was composed of entirely Aboriginal members.
The following year, it was decided that the event should cover a week, from the first to second Sundays in July.
In 1984, NADOC asked that National Aborigines Day be made a national public holiday, to help celebrate and recognise the rich cultural history that makes Australia unique.
While this has not happened, the call was echoed by other groups, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
In 1991, with a growing awareness of the distinct cultural histories of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander peoples, NADOC became known as the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, NAIDOC. This new name has become the name by which the whole week is now called, not just the day.
During the mid-1990s through to 2005, ATSIC took over the management of NAIDOC. During this time, ATSIC assisted in funding and coordinating NAIDOC events throughout Australia.
After ATSIC was disbanded in July 2005, a caretaker National NAIDOC Committee was appointed. That committee and the NAIDOC Secretariat sets the theme and host city for NAIDOC each year; hosts www.naidoc.org, distributes media releases; and organises the national NAIDOC Awards, poster competition, ball and awards ceremony.
In 2006, community members in Perth formed a NAIDOC Committee to promote and assist in the coordination of the 50th anniversary of NAIDOC in Perth.
NAIDOC Perth Awards
Nominations for this year’s awards closed on Wednesday 24 June and the field is expected to be very competitive.
These awards recognise people who work quietly and with dedication to the community. Winners will be announced at NAIDOC Perth’s Opening Ceremony on Sunday 5 July, Wellington Square, East Perth, from noon.
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