Heal Country!

From Sunday 4 July to Sunday 11 July in Australia, we celebrate NAIDOC Week. 

This week is an opportunity for all Australians to come together every year to celebrate the rich history, diverse cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.

This year's theme - Heal Country - calls for all of us -Indigenous and non-Indigenous - to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.

A country that is more than a place and inherent to our First Nations Peoples' identity.

A country that they speak about like a person, sustaining their lives in every aspect - spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.

NAIDOC 2021 invites the nation to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of the Country as part of Australia's national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.

For generations, First Nations' people have been calling for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of their culture and heritage.

They are still waiting for those robust protections.

This year’s theme also seeks substantive institutional, structural, and collaborative reform – something generations of Indigenous Elders and communities have been advocating, marching and fighting for.

Healing Country means finally resolving many of the outstanding injustices which impact the lives of our Indigenous brothers and sisters.

It is about hearing and actioning the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which are the culmination of generations of consultation and discussions among their nations on a range of issues and grievances.

After 250 years, their children and their future generations deserve better.

We cannot afford to let pass the very real opportunity that now presents itself for reform based on a fundamental change in the relationship Australia has with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Heal Country, heal our nation.  We all have a part to play.