6 things you may not know about NAIDOC Week!

• NAIDOC is an acronym for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.
• NAIDOC week is celebrated across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• NAIDOC week’s origins can be traced back to 1938.
• Back on Australia Day on 1938, protesters marched through the streets of Sydney abut the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This protest was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world and known as ‘Day of Mourning’. Between 1940 and 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day (commonly known as ‘Aborigines Day’). In 1955, it was decided that Aborigines Day should include a celebration of Aboriginal culture, heritage, and achievement.
• NAIDOC week highlights the achievements of indigenous people all over Australia.
• NAIDOC week 2021 theme is ‘Heal Country’. It calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.

Art by @nardurna.  Available at nardurna.com

Sources: NAIDOC | and NAIDOC Week Facts, Worksheets, History, Flags & Activites For Kids (kidskonnect.com)