COVERED in white handprints and brandishing spears, Inverell High School’s Indigenous dance troupe got into the spirit of NAIDOC week yesterday.
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Keiari Morgan, Tamara Jerrard, Shakeam Saunders, Josh Williams, Shanekah Kirk and Dean Davis treated around 60 parents and family members to a traditional dance for the school’s NAIDOC week assembly.
Aboriginal Students Officer Jenny Donnelly was excited to see such a healthy turnout, and said it was great to see so many parents coming along to support their kids, school and culture.
“I think that’s fabulous,” she said.
Dean and Tamara raised the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal flags together, surrounded by students and family members.
After enjoying the dance troupe’s performance, the school’s exceptional Indigenous students were awarded for their achievements.
Inverell High was not the first school to celebrate the event, following in the footsteps of Inverell Public, Tingha Public and Ross Hill Public, who held flag raisings on Monday and Tuesday.
Ross Hill also had a NAIDOC awards ceremony on Tuesday and Indigenous sports today.
This year’s NAIDOC theme, Songlines, focuses on living narratives and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral connections.
Songlines, also known as dreaming tracks, are believed to record the travels of ancestral beings who created the land and its living creatures. Recorded in traditional songs, artworks, stories and dances, songlines are intricate networks which map everything from travel and trade routes to the locations of waterholes and food.