Celebrate traditions in NAIDOC Week
Smoke will fill the air and the rumble of a didgeridoo will echo through the streets of Kwinana when the City begins its NAIDOC Week celebrations.
The week-long event, from Monday, June 29 to July 5, offers the community an array of opportunities to celebrate and acknowledge the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The events will kick off in the heart of the City at the Darius Wells Library and Resource Centre on Monday at 10am with a traditional smoke ceremony.
The day will include performances by the Yonga Boys and Bailey Ballard and Tanesha Bennel, the Albert Windie Exhibition, the raising of the flag ceremony and award presentations.
Kwinana Aboriginal elder Lindsay Calyun encouraged the community to get involved and celebrate the important week.
"It is about bringing the community together and showing off our culture," he said.
"It is a big celebration for all Aboriginal people across Australia."
He said it was great to see young Aboriginal children getting involved and staying connected to their culture.
"It lets them know who they are and where they come from," Mr Calyun said.
Friends of the Spectacles member Mandy Grubb, who runs the Manjar Boodjar Tour through the Spectacles Wetlands as part of the week's celebrations, hoped members of the community would join her in connecting with Noongar culture.
"Most people would just drive past the Spectacles and think it is just a scratchy bit of bushland, but once you are inside it gives you a renewed sense of its preciousness," she said.
"It is about honouring the Noongar people's connection with the land and learning about what the land has to offer."
Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said the national theme for NAIDOC Week this year was 'We all Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate'.
"I am really impressed by the way the community have come together to put on such a great range of activities throughout Kwinana, there really is something for everyone," she said.
