During NAIDOC

NAIDOC Week 2009. Photo: Julie Clarke

Yesterday morning I got a lovely surprise whilst I was in Lygon Court, Carlton. One of my first semester Indigenous Australian students gave me a big hug when he saw me and we had a chat about what we'd both been doing on the holidays. Later, before I met up with Erin, I watched a smoking ceremony and flag-raising event at the Melbourne Town Hall, presided over by Indigenous elders and the Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. I will be attending a similar event at the University of Melbourne on Friday ~ both these events are part of NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week, set up to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Islander peoples. The flag, designed by Indigenous artist Harold Joseph Thomas in 1971 may represent the bright yellow sun, the dark sky, the red earth, however, the black and red colors on the flag could equally represent the color of aboriginal skin and their blood spilt in the past 200 years.