What is NAIDOC Week?
NAIDOC Week takes place each year between the first and second Sundays in July.
It's a time to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is especially important for Indigenous communities around the country.
In 2022, it will take place from Sunday, July 3 to Sunday, July 10.
Key points:
- The 2022 NAIDOC Week theme “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!” calls for being more than a bystander but to becoming a participant in the events and a force for change.
- NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee, the organisers of the week.
- This year marks the 50th year of the Tent Embassy and 30 years since the historic Mabo Decision.
What does 'Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!' mean?
Each year, a different theme is selected by the NAIDOC committee which steers the focus for NAIDOC Week.
The theme for 2022 is “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”.
This year also marks two significant milestones - the 50th anniversary of the Tent Embassy and the 30th anniversary of the Mabo Decision.
Part of the NAIDOC theme is celebrating, honouring and learning more about the key moments and individuals - who stood up and showed up to push for change for Aboriginal and Torres Islander communities.
Amid conjecture over a possible referendum that would give the First Nations people the opportunity for constitutional power through a “Voice to Parliament”, the movement for constitutional change, treaty and truth, the Uluru Statement from the Heart exemplifies that.
Law professor at UNSW Megan Davis admits that “change is a difficult thing” and this year’s theme really resonates with her.
UNSW Professor Megan Davis. Source: AAP
“We got a lot of mob doing that work. They are getting up, standing up day to day,” she said.
Another component of the 2022 theme is to move beyond acknowledgement and, in its base form, seek real change in the relationship between the wider community and Aboriginal and Torres Islander people.
Warren Roberts, the founder of Yarn Australia emphasises: “We must do it together.”
It is about all of us coming together and standing up for what is right for the First Nations and for everyone.
“It is about continuing the fight for systematic change, seeking proper environmental, culture and heritage protections, constitutional change and comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties and calling out racism.”
How to get involved?
NAIDOC Week is an important event for First Nations people and is an occasion when families and communities come together to catch up and continue the practice of storytelling, celebrating their culture and their way of being.
But it is also an opportunity to learn and participate in a range of activities in support of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Events are held across the country and often involve music performances, art showcases, cultural workshops, talks and activities for children.
Mr Roberts said there are plenty of opportunities to be part of the week's events.
A young girl at a NAIDOC Week event in Naarm (Melbourne), 2018. Source: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.
“What I encourage all Australian to do is to contact your local government, council and enquire about your local NAIDOC and come along.
"If you want to volunteer, contact the organisers. In a way that it is not just that you turn up to an event and have an experience, but get involved and help put on the local NAIDOC."
NAIDOC history
NAIDOC Week comes from a place of protest and was launched to acknowledge the continued struggle of the First Nations people and highlight the need for systematic change.
In 1938, protestors marched through Sydney, a demonstration known as the “Day of Mourning.”
Between 1940 and 1955, protestors gathered annually to mark the day, on the Sunday before Australia Day. The day was known as “Aboriginals Day".
The date then shifted to the first Sunday of July and through the decades transformed into something more than a day of protest, but rather a week-long celebration of Indigenous culture.