NAIDOC Week 2021 – Heal Country

July 5, 2021

In 2021 the theme for NAIDOC Week (4-11 July) is Heal Country! It’s a theme that calls for all Australians to continue to seek greater protection from exploitation and destruction of land, water, sacred sites and cultural heritage.

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life.

The 2021 National NAIDOC Poster, ‘Care for Country’ was designed by Gubbi Gubbi artist Maggie-Jean Douglas. Using the 2021 NAIDOC Week theme, Heal Country, as inspiration, ‘Care for Country’ is a bright and vibrant artwork that explores how Country has cared for and healed First Nations people spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and culturally.

The artwork includes communities, people, animals and bush medicines spread over different landscapes of red dirt, green grass, bushland and coastal areas to tell the story of the many ways Country can and has healed us throughout our lives and journeys. Learn more about this wonderful work of art here, and download your own copy for your workplace, home or school here.

NAIDOC Week – Read, Watch, Listen

Use our online services to access e-books, e-audiobooks, digital movies and documentaries and children’s resources to help you celebrate and acknowledge NAIDOC Week.

Our digital movie stream service Kanopy has a large selection of documentaries and movies. Log in with your WGL membership and search ‘NAIDOC’. Our staff pick is The Black Arm Band, featuring some of Australia’s finest Indigenous musicians, as they take to the road with their songs of resistance and freedom.

BorrowBox has a range of Indigenous fiction, non-fiction and memoirs on e-book and e-audiobooks, including Jackson’s Track, On Identity by Stan Grant, Too Much Lip, and Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe.

Listen, read and learn using Libby by Overdrive. Our staff picks are Anita Heiss’ Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, and Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, and Tara June Winch’s The Yield.

StoryBox Library has curated a selection of titles for NAIDOC Week to engage children in First Nations’ stories with a key focus on building awareness and respect for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their connection to Country. Sign in with your West Gippsland Libraries membership to watch these titles and more for free.

During StoryTime, our Early Years presenters will read titles from indigenous authors and have NAIDOC themed craft activities. Our library branches will also have displays of books showcasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Call in and pick up some titles to enjoy during NAIDOC Week.