Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s NAIDOC Week celebrations came to an end on Friday.
This year’s NAIDOC theme, Get up! Stand up! Show up!, was a celebration of First Nations culture, while still reflecting on history and acknowledging more needs to be done on the rights of First Nations people.
The school’s events were held later than the July 3 to 10 NAIDOC Week due to school holidays falling on those dates.
Senior Koori education advisor for the Shepparton Education Plan Larissa Falla said the week centred on being “all-inclusive”.
“It’s been a really immersive experience,” she said.
“We’ve had traditional games; the bell playing First Nations playlists; we’ve changed some of the signage inside to use language.”
The school incorporated First Nations’ languages into daily home group periods with a “word of the day”, it held workshops on weaving and making damper, and showcased First Nations artwork of students as part of the week.
To finalise the events, an assembly proceeded with a smoking ceremony and yarning circle, followed by a Welcome to Country and stories shared by previous First Nations students.
Students of activity group Dunguludja Dana presented the possum-skin cloak they created over eight weeks.
Over the span of weekly meetings, the students explored First Nations art, what symbols mean and the stories behind traditional artwork.
“It was about empowering our kids to create their own stories, to create them and kind of burn them into the possum-skin cloaks to tell the story of their journey and education,” Yorta Yorta woman and Dunguludja Dana founding member Jean Miller said.
The engraved possum pelts were stitched together to create a traditional cloak.
“I think that we were able to create a really safe space for them (the students),” Ms Miller said.
“They have ownership of the Koori hub now, which they couldn't say they had before.
“They now know that’s their space that they’re able to go and connect in there, and it’s not just about safety, it’s about connection to each other and to culture.”