6 First Nations People On What NAIDOC Week Means To Them

As a Wakka Wakka person, NAIDOC Week is a time for pride and to celebrate our culture, our history and to highlight First Nations excellency and achievements over millennia. We’re the oldest and longest continuous culture in the world, which gives us so much to commemorate and learn about.

Much of the focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is deficit-based; it's often about racism in its many forms, or a focus on statistics. So it's nice to have a week of celebration entirely for us. It’s Blak Christmas!

NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee, and stems from the ‘Day of Mourning’ (something we’ve held on January 26 long before it was a public holiday). It has continued to grow over time, and now has awards, a national gala dinner, a theme and a focus city. 

This year’s theme is ‘For Our Elders’, which is really special. We always talk about Elders, but to dedicate the entire NAIDOC season to them is so important. It’s their hands and hearts that have nurtured us, our cultures, knowledge and lands. They’ve fought hard for us and blazed trails and carved spaces for us, so it’s great to have this week to highlight them, their work and their special place in our cultures. 

For me, NAIDOC is always a fun time. I’ll try attend as many things as I can, and head to Musgrave Park for Meanjin’s Community Day — this is something I’ve been going to for my whole life, and it’s so cool to see its growth over the years. Musgrave is a historically important gathering place for traditional owners of that land and for Brisbane Blacks, so it’s cool that we still get to gather there today. I remember being a kid and racing around to every stall to get a free goodie bag and have my face painted. Even now, it's always so nice to see everyone and have catch-ups with mob you haven’t seen for a minute. It’s refreshing and rejuvenating.

I spoke to 5 other First Nations people to ask what NAIDOC Week means to them, and how they're celebrating this year.

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