It’s NAIDOC Week – a time in Australia to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Postponed from its usual month of July due to COVID-19, NAIDOC Week runs from 8-15 November.
This year’s theme is ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’. It recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for the continent for more than 50,000 years.
Healthy North Coast’s Deputy Director of Aboriginal Health, Marni Tuala, says NAIDOC Week is ‘a time when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel an immense pride in celebrating our culture, communities and stories and collectively being a part of the world’s oldest living culture’.
“NAIDOC Week is particularly important this year because of the situation we’ve faced in 2020 with COVID-19 and the additional risk to our community,” says Ms Tuala.
“We’ve risen to the challenge and shown our resilience.”
On the North Coast many communities will celebrate NAIDOC Week. There will be a range of events and activities taking place.
In Coffs Harbour these include a bush tucker cooking class with the Galambila Aboriginal Medical Service on Tuesday, a community touch football day on Thursday and the Yandaarra Aunty Grace Roberts Community Awards with Coffs Harbour City Council on Friday.
Majestic Cinemas at Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Nambucca Heads and Sawtell will host NAIDOC Week film screenings of ‘In My Blood It Runs’ on Saturday and Sunday.
Social Futures, a community organisation that promotes fairness and inclusion and provides services and support to the Northern Rivers community, is celebrating NAIDOC through sharing stories of resilience, hope and strength, by interviewing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members.
Each short three-to-five-minute film clip will be available on the Social Futures Facebook page.
Nimbin’s annual NAIDOC march from Nimbin Hospital to Allsop Park will go ahead on Friday 13 November at 10.30am. While the number of participants is capped at 20, people can show their support by lining the street at a social distance. A small gathering capped at 100 people will be held after the march at the Nimbin Community Centre grounds.
In Tweed Heads the Youth Recognition, Sporting and Achievement Awards, honouring the achievements of local young people, will be live streamed on Wednesday while on Thursday, there will be a livestream recognising 2020 Year 12 students, starting at 10am.
On Friday 13 November, the annual NAIDOC Week street march will have a different look due to COVID-19 restrictions and will take the form of a car convoy from Tweed Heads Civic Centre to Jack Evans Boat Harbour starting at 10am. At the boat harbour, there will be a speech to wrap up events at 11.30am.
NAIDOC Week is also the perfect time to learn about the many cultural stories which are embedded into the Tweed landscape, some of which you can hear at Tweed Regional Museum’s award-winning Land | Life | Culture exhibition.
Tweed Regional Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, at 2 Queensland Road in Murwillumbah.
Click here for more information on Tweed Heads NAIDOC Week events.
Click here to view a national calendar of NAIDOC Week events.