Strength, vision and legacy were on show during the past month as we celebrated NAIDOC Week together with our community and the children of our Early Learning Programs. Alongside major events at Beechboro, Bullsbrook and Ballajura, thanks to our partnership with the City of Swan, we brought our celebrations to the children of each of our Early Learning Centres.
Our commemoration of First Nations cultures, histories and achievements launched at Beechboro with support from government groups and representatives, including Hon Dave Kelly MLA and Mayor Tanya Richardson, and local organisations, such as the St John of God Aboriginal Health Team and Yalkarang Consulting. The community was brought together through displays of Indigenous culture with a smoking ceremony by Mr William Ponton, the featuring of the Midn Marr Dreaming dancers and the Moorditj Maarman group who sang in language.
Our children were involved too, with Tamara from Yalkarang Consulting leading children from the Noongar Language Revitalisation Program in song. They also joined in on activities by contributing to the City of Swan’s draft Reconciliation Action Plan and creating art with Cahoots.
This spirit of reconciliation and celebration was carried over to both Bullsbrook and Ballajura, where these communities each participated in smoking ceremonies and engaged in fun activities intended to teach the children about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
The celebrations at our other Early Learning Programs were more intimate, with our children welcoming in Indigenous people into their classrooms, whether at High Wycombe where Mr Ponton held a small smoking ceremony or at Hilton where Aunty Fran led us in Noongar language activities – including singing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Noongar!
Each of these individual events have helped our children to learn more about our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and strengthens their understanding of the diversity within their local and national community. These are important lessons for children to be learning and NAIDOC Week has allowed us to reinforce them, building on our work to embed respect for First Nations peoples in our everyday curriculum.
If you are interested in learning more about our journey of reconciliation, read our Reconciliation Action Plan and talk to the Community Services Coordinator at any of our Centres to discover how First Nations culture shapes our teaching experiences.
