NAIDOC WEEK 2022

NAIDOC WEEK 2022 ~ "GET UP! STAND UP! SHOW UP!"

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.  NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia from the 3rd- 10th July 2022 to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is an opportunity for all Australians, whatever their heritage, to come together to learn about and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their achievements, culture and contributions to our great land.  

The theme for 2022 is "GET UP! STAND UP! SHOW UP!".  "We all must continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and keep rallying around our mob, our Elders, our communities.  Whether it’s seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional change, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism—we must do it together.  It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms.  It’s also time to celebrate the many who have driven and led change in our communities over generations—they have been the heroes and champions of change, of equal rights and even basic human rights." - naidoc.org.au

As we are from the Sunshine Coast, we are living, working and playing on Gubbi Gubbi Country.  Rani also lived, worked and served on Badu Island in the Torres Strait for 2 years to complete her remote teaching service – a life changing experience that holds a very special place in her heart. 

We wanted to create something for our community of little explorers to celebrate NAIDOC WEEK and inspire and help your little ones to learn about our sacred Indigenous culture and encourage discussions about our traditional Australian landowners. We contacted a brilliant local Sunshine Coast Indigenous artist, Sheri from Bigi Nagala (meaning ‘I am dreaming’ in Bidjara language) who is a proud Bidjara woman who tells Indigenous stories through her paint creations.  She was excited when we spoke to her and she took our idea and ran with it to create the most beautiful paintings of Indigenous symbols which we’ve turned into FREE printables for you and your family to use and engage with.

The FREE, colour download is of a series of traditional Australian Indigenous Symbols.  You can use these symbols in a variety of ways:

• To print in colour and use for painting/drawing and copying the symbols or print in black and white to colour in the symbols and words
• To print and use as playdough mats – create the symbols and shapes from playdough or clay
• To print and copy these symbols in the sandpit, at the beach, in the dirt or draw them in chalk on some concrete
• To print multiple copies to create a memory game or snap to simply match the pairs
• Print, laminate and display eg: in a classroom, playroom, bedroom etc
• To print, laminate and cut up to create puzzle pieces for each Symbol

The ideas are endless!  We hope you are feeling inspired and can’t wait to see what you and your family create with these free NAIDOC WEEK printables!   While we can’t change history, through telling the truth about our nation’s past we certainly can change the way history is viewed.   We are all looking for significant and lasting change and hopefully these printables can inspire and bring some much-needed conversations and learning into our communities and families. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 'INDIGENOUS SYMBOL' PRINTABLES

Thank you so much to Sheri for collaborating with us on this special project.  Please pop over to her IG page @bigi_nagala to show her some support or visit her website here - https://www.biginagala.com.au/.   Please also tag us over at @wander.and.wild to share your NAIDOC WEEK creativity and love!

All designs are the intellectual property of Bigi Nagala and Wander + Wild and are not to be reproduced or sold.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

Acknowledging the traditional custodians of the Sunshine Coast, the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi people, the injustices of the past and paying respect to the culture and connection to country for thousands of years to the original peoples of this land.  

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