NAIDOC Week celebrations have kicked off early in Victor Harbor with a day full of excitement, including a march down Coral Street and cultural entertainment at Soldiers Memorial Gardens.
For the second time Miwi-inyeri Pelepi-ambi Aboriginal Corporation (MIPAAC) ran the event, chair of the board Ngarrindjeri woman Jade McHughes said she was excited the celebration was being run by Aboriginal peoples.
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"NAIDOC is my favourite week of the Aboriginal calendar, it is so because it is simply a celebration of Aboriginal people, culture, history and achievements," she said.
"It is all about celebrating our first people and the oldest living culture on the planet." The week long celebration officially runs from July 3-10, but Ms McHughes said MIPAAC wanted to have school involvement and decided to run their main Victor Harbor event on Wednesday, June 22, during the school term.
After the march, attendees saw a traditional Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony, and a performance by Warramungu and Yuggera man Dave Booth with his sons.
Roy Aleck, a Torres Strait man from Darnley Island said this years theme of Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up was an important one.
"I think it's really important that we celebrate and reflect in our culture and let the wider community know 'here we are'," he said.
A second NAIDOC event will be hosted by MIPAAC on Sunday, July 10, at Ratalang (Basham Beach) Conservation Reserve.
These celebrations have been supported by the Alexandrina Council and will run from 11am to 2pm.
Ms McHughes said this event will be similar to the Victor Harbor event, but there would be some huge differences.
She explained Ratalang was culturally significant land, and many local Aboriginal people had a strong spiritual connection to the area.
"It's a very different vibe down there... there's something special about that place," she said.
Uncle Moogy will perform a smoking ceremony and there will be a performance by a Ngarrindjeri reggae band.
Ms McHughes said there would be similar craft activities at the second event, and attendees would also have the chance to participate in language workshops.
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