Celebrating NAIDOC Week in Logan
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about Indigenous cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
We’ve compiled some suggestions that might help you immerse yourself in this week’s local events and activities – some are held at Logan City Council venues while others are run independently by the City of Logan’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Logan Libraries offer plenty of learning resources and workshops, digital stories and reading opportunities.
- NAIDOC Family Fun Day
The Logan NAIDOC Family Fun Day recognises and celebrates the City of Logan’s rich Indigenous heritage and brings the community together. The NAIDOC Family Fun Day will run from 9 am to 2.30 pm on Tuesday, July 4 at the Kingston Butter Factory (KBF) Cultural Precinct. A key element of the Logan NAIDOC Family Fun Day is a free live entertainment program featuring traditional and modern performances on the KBF stage. The program also features information stalls, a free barbecue lunch, activities for children, traditional foods for sale, a damper-making competition and a traditional weaving session. Logan NAIDOC Family Fun Day | NAIDOC
- The Spirit of the Dreaming school holiday show
Indigenous Dreamtime stories will be shared through storytelling, puppetry, song and dance. Author, artist, performer and Yamatji Noongar storyteller Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt and author Jacki Ferro will bring to life their new book Old Nana Quokka.
Wednesday 5 July
- 11 am to 11.45 am, Logan Central Library
- 2 pm to 2.45 pm at Logan Hyperdome Library.
Bookings are recommended and can be made at loganlibraries.org. The show is for ages up to 12 years.
- Indigenous Languages workshop
Explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in this introductory program. Indigenous Languages educator Robert Ah Wing will present the new Our languages workshops at Logan Libraries from July to celebrate the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. A different Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language will be explored during each monthly workshop. Suitable for adults and ages 14 and older.
First session:
- Tuesday 18 July, 6 pm to 7.30 pm, Logan Central Library.
Bookings can be made on loganlibraries.org.
- Finding your mob workshop
Learn how you can find out about your Mob. This presentation is not intended to help you to identify individual ancestors, but you will learn how to find out where they lived and what their lives were like. Presented by Hilda Maclean, the Local Heritage Specialist.
- 19 July, 10.30 am to 12 pm, Logan Central Library.
Bookings can be made at loganlibraries.org.
Can’t attend in person? You have the option of seeing Hilda’s video on ‘Finding your Mob from home’: Finding your Mob from home by Local Heritage Specialist Hilda Maclean – YouTube
- Nyumba-Meta: read books and/or join a book club
The space Nyeumba-Meta at Logan Central Library is a place to foster respect for Australian Indigenous cultures. You will find information about Nyeumba-Meta at this link, including information on how to access the collection. You can see the Nyeumba-Meta collection online.
Nyeumba-Meta book clubs are held at Logan Central and Beenleigh Libraries. The book club creates an accessible, safe space for community conversations that help to raise awareness about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories. Bookings are suggested and details are on Nyeumba-Meta
- Digital stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Our words our stories offers digital stories by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and peoples who live, work or perform in the City of Logan. They offer unique local insights into their language, heritage and knowledge. Our words our stories were created for the 2019 United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages.
You can explore more digital resources at this link, including Our Aunties and Uncles, and Black Diggers of Logan.
- Visit First Nations Space at the Living Museum of Logan
Visit the Living Museum of Logan to experience the co-curated space by and for Logan’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Visitors can learn about First Nations language and culture and hear digital stories. Embracing this year’s theme ‘For our Elders’, you can listen to Our Aunties and Uncles, which tells the stories of 4 significant Elders in Logan in their own voices. Here’s a brochure on the First Nations Exhibitions.
- Logan Art Gallery exhibition paying tribute to Uncle Reg Knox
The memory of beloved artist and writer Uncle Reg Knox is being celebrated at Logan Art Gallery. Reginald Roy Knox was a City of Logan resident for more than 40 years until his death at age 86. His accolades include a national Aboriginal Elder of the Year award, a commendation from the Queen, a Queensland Day honour, Logan Citizen of the Year and inclusion on Council’s Wall of Acclaim. This exhibition of selected works by First Nation artists from the Logan Art Collection is at Logan Art Gallery until 22 July. The gallery is open 10 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Saturday.
- Make a bush damper with your family
Are you a foodie? Food is the universal language and often the common thread between cross-cultural communities. You could make a damper at home with your loved ones during NAIDOC Week. Bush damper has been a staple diet for tens of thousands of years, so let’s keep it going for thousands more. It was originally made from flour of crushed Spinifex seeds. The link below gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make a bush damper with modern ingredients. Bon appètit!
