Celebrating National NAIDOC Week

http://www.naidoc.org.au/

The 2010 National NAIDOC theme is ‘Unsung Heroes – Closing the Gap by Leading Their Way’. Many unsung Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have made huge contributions to Australian society. ‘Unsung heroes’ recognises the part played by the quiet achievers in the Indigenous community, both now and in the past.

NAIDOC Week saw a variety of celebrations held across CSU.

Thurgoona Library Commons and Wagga Library used the opportunity to embrace Indigenous culture with displays highlighting some of the great resources available to students and staff across CSU. Indigenous Student Services provided various artefacts to give a cultural experience to the displays. At Thurgoona visitors were invited to visit the indigenous students services unit Winan-Gidyal which means “learning knowledge”.

Traditional bush tucker was the central feature of the NAIDOC Week celebrations at Bathurst. Students and staff were invited to partake in tastings of marinated kangaroo, kangaroo rissoles, damper, and quandong cordial or jam. Spokesperson for the NAIDOC Week celebration, Ms Elise Hull, who works at CSU’s Truskett Library, said “I believe that NAIDOC Week is important, not just at Charles Sturt University but throughout Australia, because it’s how Indigenous people can celebrate their culture through food, art, activities, and music. Everyone needs to take a proactive interest in different cultures, and NAIDOC Week is a fantastic way for non-Indigenous people to learn about Indigenous people and their culture in a friendly and open environment”.