VACCA celebrates Aboriginal culture and resilience during NAIDOC Week

The Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) is celebrating NAIDOC Week with its clients and community through a series of events across Victoria. 

 

“For VACCA it is critical to give back to Community and show our children and families that their culture is to be celebrated and we all keep the fire burning and stand up – Blak, Loud and Proud,” VACCA CEO, and NAIDOC Person of the Year Aunty Muriel Bamblett said. 

 

VACCA’s NAIDOC events attract hundreds of attendees and provide an opportunity for children, young people, carers, Elders and community members to gather and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture.

 

The 2024 NAIDOC Week theme – Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud celebrates the strength, resilience, and spirit of Aboriginal people and culture. 

 

For Ms Bamblett it is a theme which honours the enduring strength and vitality of First Nations culture – with fire being a symbol of connection to Country, to each other, and to the rich tapestry of traditions that define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

 

Truth telling and knowing history is so important, she continued, sharing that the idea behind NAIDOC “goes back to a letter written by William Cooper that was aimed at Aboriginal communities and at churches in 1937.” 

 

“They were preparing for what would become the famous Day of Mourning in 1938; it not only sparked a very effective one-off protest, but it also stimulated a national observance that was at first championed by churches, and is now a national celebration throughout the week of NAIDOC.”

 

Allies have been asked to show their support for First Nations people throughout NAIDOC Week. 

 

“Stand together with us and march in the streets, join your local flag raising ceremony, or attend a NAIDOC event and celebrate 65,000 years of culture,” information from VACCA noted. 

 

“We all have a part to play in promoting respectful relationships between Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous Australians.” 

 

Find a local VACCA event, or find a local NAIDOC event. 

 

VACCA has also made a playlist of Deadly new tunes (and a few classics) from the First Nations music scene, featuring artists that “keep the fire burning” and inspire pride. Listen to the official 2024 NAIDOC playlist here.