NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week is coming up soon and here at Cockburn Libraries we celebrate for more than just the week. You can come to special NAIDOC Week-themed Storytimes at each branch.
Coolbellup
Wednesday 28 June at 10.30am
Spearwood
Tuesday 27 June at 10.30am
Friday 30 June at 10.30am
Success
Tuesday 27 June at 9.30am
Friday 30 June at 9.30am
We’ll also be celebrating throughout the July school holidays. Today, I’m going to focus on NAIDOC at my Storytime blog.
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. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country. (National NAIDOC Week | NAIDOC)
The theme for 2023 is For Our Elders.
Noongar Boodja Waangkan: Noongar First Words by Jayden Boundry and Tyrown Waigana
Noongar is the language of the Noongar nation and is spoken by 14 different groups across the south-west corner of Western Australia. Written in Noongar and English, this fully illustrated collection of first Noongar words includes family, plants, animals, emotions, colours, numbers and more, with an audio link guide for pronunciation.
If you want to learn some Nyungar words or want to share them with your child, this book is a wonderful place to start. On the first endpapers there is a map of Nyungar country with the names of the different groups that speak the language as well as a map of the Wadjuk area that includes Perth and here in Cockburn. The book covers words for family, your body, the land, plants, animals, and more.
Come Together: Things Every Aussie Kid Should Know About the First Peoples by Isaiah Firebrace, with illustrations by Jaelyn Blumalwai, and design by Keisha Leon
Noongar is the language of the Noongar nation and is spoken by 14 different groups across the south-west corner of Western Australia. Written in Noongar and English, this fully illustrated collection of first Noongar words includes family, plants, animals, emotions, colours, numbers and more, with an audio link guide for pronunciation.
Including topics like the difference between and Acknowledgement to Country and a Welcome to Country, the Dreamtime, Elders, and many more.Â
Of Elders – this year’s theme for NAIDOC week is ‘For Our Elders’ the book in part says:
Elders are leaders in First Nations Communities…Elders carry knowledge and stories from generation to generation…
Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester
When Ernie leaves the city and goes to live in the Aboriginal reserve of Arnhem Land, he sends letters to his old classmates describing the activities of his new friends.
Alison Lester visited Arnhem Land in 1996 and 1997 as a guest of the Gunbalanya Community School with her friend and fellow author Liz Honey. Together they worked with staff and students of the school to produce poems, plays, puppets and paintings. This book is based on a story the upper Primary students made about their lives, called We Love Gunbalanya. (Ernie Dances To The Didgeridoo – alisonlester.com)
This book is part of the Better Beginnings’ Deadly Books for Little Kids (0-5) booklist.Â
Thanks to Better Beginnings you can hear the book Baby Ways in Nyungar.Â
Maawit Mart / Baby Ways by Nola Allen, Frances Andrijich, and Margaret Robson Kett
Enjoy this Noongar-English version of Baby Ways with your baby.
Or a range of other languages. You can be part of the project by sharing your language in a video of your own.Â
Art – Symbols
Proud Yuin woman and founder of Ngandabaa (Yun-Da-Baa), Rheanna Lotter talks about her Aboriginal artwork and shows us how to draw Aboriginal symbols. Then how to use those symbols to create an artwork of her story.
Before I sign off for this blog I would like to take a moment to focus on Nyungar stories. A few years ago, the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories project published a number of wonderful bilingual stories. These books in Noongar and English, retell old stories.
These stories comes from the wise and ancient language of the First People of the Western Australian south coast.
Dwoort Baal Kaat: an old story retold by Kim Scott, Russell Nelly and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project with artwork by Alta Winmar
A man goes hunting for some tucker with a pack of dogs, but he doesn’t get what he expected. Dwoort Baal Kaat is the story of how two different animals are related to one another.
Noorn: an old story retold by Kim Scott, Ryan Brown and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project with artwork by Alta Winmar
Noorn is a story of alliances between humans and other living creatures, in this case a snake. It tells of how protective relationships can be nurtured by care and respect.
Yira Boornak Nyininy: an old story retold by Kim Scott, Hazel Brown, Roma Winmar and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project with artwork by Anthony (Troy) Roberts
Left stranded in a tree by his wife, a Noongar man has to rely on his Wadjela friend to help him back down. Yira Boornak Nyininy is a story of forgiveness and friendship.
Ngaawily Nop: an old story retold by Kim Scott, Joyce Cockles, Roma Winmar and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project with artwork by Roma Winmar and Alta Winmar
A boy goes looking for his uncle. He discovers family and home at the ocean’s edge, and finds himself as well. Ngaawily Nop is a story of country and family and belonging.
