Welcome to the April 2022 edition of the ANTaR ACT newsletter where we provide you with updates on ANTaR locally and nationally. April is already proving to be quite busy month, with many events on around Canberra particularly as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. In May there will be a screening of the film The Lake of Scars, and check out the book recently launched, ‘We are Australians’ co-authored by Wiradjuri man, Duncan Smith. Keep reading for more information on these events and more!
ANTaR News
ANTaR ACT
Throughout this year, ANTaR ACT is continuing its commitment to meet with and write to the ACT government and opposition to monitor progress on a number of issues and commitments made, in the ALP-Greens Agreement for the 10th Legislative of Assembly on matters important to First Nations Peoples in the ACT.
At our April committee meeting, we were pleased to have Tanya Keed, Acting Chair of The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body (ATSIEB) and Director of Clybucca Dreaming Consulting, join us to talk about her research relating to issues on Aboriginal Incarceration as well as discuss her personal views on progress of The Agreement for First Nations people as we are nearing the halfway mark for its implementation later this year. We will be taking up the issues Tanya raised in our future advocacy and looking at how we can support the amazing work she does.
Our next committee meeting will be on Monday 9th May 6pm via Zoom. If you would like to join us, please email and we will send you details.
ANTaR National
Sea of Hands: Bookings are now open to reserve a #SeaofHands visit to your community for National Reconciliation Week 2022 www.antar.org.au/seaofhands. Get your school, university, workplace or community involved and plant a hand in solidarity with First Nations people.
National Reconciliation Week
27 May 2022 – 3 June 2022
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is on 27 May to 3 June and is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for 2022 is Be Brave. Make Change. It is a challenge to us all to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for all. The brave characters by illustrator, Tori-Jay Mordey, show just some of the different faces of Australians working for a just and equal society.
More details regarding NRW events will be shared soon!
What’s happening
Canberra and Region Heritage Festival
9 April to 1 May
The 2022 Heritage Festival includes a number of events highlighting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Canberra and the regions – for details see: www.environment.act.gov.au/heritage/heritage-festival
Some of the events related to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture include:
Cultural Burning & Grass tree Guided Walk
20 April
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/experiencing-namarag-tickets-270773660307
Join Uncle Warren (Ngunnawal Elder and Aboriginal ranger) and Dean Freeman (Aboriginal Culture Fire Officer), as they take you up to the grass tree site along the Wandarawarri loop (moderate 2.5km return) and share their knowledge and experience with traditional burning practices and the cultural significance of grass trees.
Ngunnawal Night Tales
23 April
Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary
Come along to the Wildbark Learning Centre to hear the tales of the Ngunnawal People. Gathered around the fire, you’ll hear stories from Ngunnawal man Richie Allan and later walk in the footsteps of the Traditional Owners of the land as you head into the sanctuary to explore a pre-European ecosystem. For more information, please email tours@woodlandsandwetlands.org.au
What does the word Ginninderry mean?
27 April
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=862894&
Join us for a walk and overview of the Aboriginal History of the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor. Tyson Powell from the Ginninderry Conservation Trust and Rosemary Hollow from the NPA will lead the walk. Tyson, a Wiradjuri man with Ngunnawal family ties, has a strong passion for his culture and the land.
Harvest Day Out: Bush Tucker with Adam Shipp
30 April
https://events.humanitix.com/bush-tucker-with-adam-shipp
Join Adam Shipp as he shares his passion for traditional Aboriginal plant use. Gain an in-depth introduction to Aboriginal plant and their uses, including foods, fibres and medicines. You will get to taste and try many flavours of the bush. Adam is a proud Wiradjuri man living on Ngunnawal country.
Also check out
Urban art: Surface Festival
March 2022
https://www.surfacefest.com.au/home
In early March 2022 the Surface Festival, a celebration of urban art, was held in the ACT. A number of Indigenous artists participated in this major festival to produce outstanding artworks in Braddon; Civic and in the National Triangle. All the works are completed, on long term display and well worth checking out the map of the artworks and taking your own self-guided tour. There were 35 local and interstate artists encompassing street art, graffiti, portraits, stencils, Indigenous art, geometric and abstract art. For the full list of artists, a complete photographic list of all the completed walls and he suggested self-guided tour, please visit the ACT Surface Festival website.
Artists – Bronwen Smith + Gavin Chatfield @gwiyaala_aboriginal_art
(Photo: Vivien Palmer)
Book: We are Australians
Saturday 9 April
https://nicolegodwin.com/my-books/we-are-australians/
On 9 April a special picture book was launched at the National Arboretum Canberra. ‘We Are Australians’, explores what it truly means to be an Australian citizen. Co-authored by Wiradjuri man, Duncan Smith OAM and Nicole Godwin, this book reflects on our rich First Nations history and encourages readers to walk forward together, stamping our feet to wake up the ancestors and listening deeply to stories. To points of view. To Country. Published by Wild Dog Books, ‘We Are Australians’ includes exquisite artwork from acclaimed artist, Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Warung man, Jandamarra Cadd, this book is a feast for the eyes as well as the soul.
Nicole Godwin and Duncan Smith (Photo: Vivien Palmer)
ANTaR ACT wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which Canberra is situated, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region. We would also like to acknowledge other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may visit this area.