NAIDOC Week

Lachie with Archbishop Prowse after the NAIDOC Mass

According to Lachie Eveston, an increasing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are enrolling in the Catholic education system across the Archdiocese.

The Teaching and Learning Officer for Aboriginal Education said the trend had continued over several years and was a testament to the work of contact teachers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, and Aboriginal Education Workers within schools.

“Their ongoing work and commitment in this space has been notable and something that should continue to be celebrated and acknowledged,” he said.

“It is the ongoing work of our staff in making First Nations education celebrated, seen, and known that is the biggest catalyst for why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families move to our Catholic Education System.”

On Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, Archbishop Christopher Prowse said families were choosing the Catholic Educational system “to give their children a truly broad and deep education, which includes an ennobling of their Aboriginal background”.

“This truly is an Acknowledgment of Country,” he said.

Lachie said supporting the education and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students within schools and facilitating opportunities for cultural learning provided a platform for students to strengthen their identities as proud First Nations people.

“If we provide opportunities in schools to learn about the diversity among nations, the connection to Country, the importance of family and upholding traditional Law for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, we take an essential step in our ongoing journey of respect, reconciliation and inclusion,” he said.

“It starts with our next generation of students.”

During NAIDOC Week, Lachie visited Early Learning Centres and primary schools, where students participated in yarning circles, learned about Aboriginal artefacts and instruments, and played traditional ‘Yulunga’ Aboriginal games.

“NAIDOC week is my favourite time of the year! It is a time to come together with family and community and celebrate the history and survival of the oldest living culture in the world,” he said.

“It is also a time for shared conversation, yarning, story-telling and deep listening, and learning. It is a time to reflect on where we have come and what we can envision on this journey towards a better-shared future.”