NAIDOC WEEK
This week is NAIDOC week and I will be honest and say that in the past I haven’t done any NAIDOC week activities with my kids. The reason being because personally I didn't know much about it and didn’t know what was culturally appropriate.
But we have to start somewhere.
So what is NAIDOC Week?
"National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth." - NAIDOC Org.
My kids are really into art and I thought what better way to connect them with someone else's culture than through art. So this activity is designed to help teach kids (and Us) more about Aboriginal Art Symbols and why/how they are used.
"The use of symbols is an alternate way to write down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land. Symbols are used by Aboriginal people in their art to preserve their culture and tradition. They are also used to depict various stories and are still used today in contemporary Aboriginal Art." - Art Ark.
In this activity we also talked about the Aboriginal Flag, it's 3 elements and the significance of the colours. The meaning of the three colours in the flag, as stated by Harold Thomas, is:
Black - represents the Aboriginal people of Australia. Red - represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies and Aboriginal people's spiritual relation to the land. Yellow disk - represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector.
I hope this activity helps. We would love to see how your boomerangs turn out, please tag us, @littleexplorerstoyshop. Head to our instagram account or tiktok to see how ours turned out.
CLICK HERE for Printable.
