Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2022

Embracing this year’s NAIDOC Week theme Get Up! Stand Up! Show UP!, Anglicare NT staff participated in marches across the Territory and organised cultural events, children’s activities and yarning sessions.

In Darwin, our Child, Youth and Family team held an interactive event at the Ludmilla Services hub. Mary Williams from Larrakia Nation led a Welcome to Country and flag raising ceremony. Mary shared the Larrakia name for Darwin, Garramilla, and spoke about narrowing the gap and supporting social justice. Anglicare NT CEO Dave Pugh spoke about the importance of using Aboriginal names for places and of listening to First Nations people and learning from them.

A bush tucker feast of locally caught barramundi and shellfish cooked directly on the fire by Dale Austin from Dingo Cockatoo was shared. Raw mangrove worms were also on the menu, and our staff learned to weave bracelets with dyed pandanus and shared a huge NAIDOC cake. Members from our Darwin teams, including headspace Darwin, joined the annual NAIDOC march and ran information stalls.

Our Katherine Regional Office and headspace Katherine teams joined the NAIDOC March, with staff joining up with CatholicCare NT to prepare a free breakfast. headspace Katherine participated in a yarning session and stick weaving activity, supported by cultural consultants.

Through our East Arnhem Children’s Services program, we supported NAIDOC Week events in Groote Eylandt.

A daily quiz was run across the whole Anglicare NT organisation during NAIDOC Week. Staff worked individually and in teams to compete for some amazing prizes. Answers were published daily, providing people with a wealth of information on all things Indigenous. Googling was not allowed!