NAIDOC in the big smoke

Sydney’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are gearing up for a day of celebrations, with the annual NAIDOC in the City event set to occur this Monday, July 8.

A City of Sydney Council initiative, the event is part of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week, marked by communities around the country.

Food, song, dance, art and comedy will be among the festivities at this year’s NAIDOC in the City, which will be held at Hyde Park North from 11am to 3pm.

Indidenous performer Mindy Kwanten from indie-pop duo Bow and Arrow, who will be performing in Hyde Park, said NAIDOC in the City was an opportunity to bring together the various Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups who call Sydney home.

“It is so important for us to have this time and celebrate our culture and be together,” said Ms Kwanten.

“Music is a great thing that brings us all together as a universal language and in our culture all our stories, teaching and learnings were through songs, so it’s very important.”

Ms Kwaten revealed the duo would play songs from their new EP Don’t Play Roulette in Russia, and said the band would be adding a drummer and tribal percussionist for the Hyde Park performance.

Other performers on the day will include Indigenous comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, Darwin-based singer Leah Flanagan, and dancers from the Move It Mob Style program on National Indigenous Television (NITV), which started broadcasting on Freeview Channel 34 in December last year.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said NAIDOC in the City was a relatively new, but important, Council initiative.

“This is the second year we’ve held our NAIDOC in the City event to celebrate and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history,” said Ms Moore.

“By holding this event in the heart of the city at Hyde Park we hope that everyone will come along –  from city workers to families and tourists – so they can enjoy the music, song and dance, while learning more about the world’s oldest continuously living culture.”

The theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week is ‘We Value the Vision: Yirrkala Bark Petitions 1963’, which marks the 50th anniversary of an important turning point in traditional rights and ownership.

In August 1963, two bark petitions were sent by the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land to Parliament House in Canberra, protesting the Federal Government’s granting of mining rights on land excised from Arnhem Land.

For information about other NAIDOC Week events in Sydney and around Australia, visit www.naidoc.org.au.