[WARNING] Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following video
contains references to deceased persons and may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
BEATS AND VOICES FROM NAIDOC MARCH
[REPORTER] When NAIDOC Week is postponed...
BEATS AND VOICES FADE OUT
what do you do?
[SIANNA CATULLO] It is the start of our NAIDOC march
and run, we are getting ready to run our 10 kay this morning…
[WILUM WARRIOR] Hey everyone, we’re doing a NAI… NAIDOC Walk.
[LAURA THOMPSON] We had over 5000 people participate and what I’m most proud of,
is that 20 per cent of those people identified as being Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander.
[REPORTER] Best known for its merch with a message, Clothing The Gap is an Aboriginal-owned
and led fashion label, social enterprise and team of health professionals,
now synonymous with virtual runs in the age of rona.
[LAURA THOMPSON] So a hundred per cent of our funds from the run support the programs
that we also deliver at Spark Health, that encourage the Aboriginal community to move more,
eat healthier food, focus on their health and wellbeing and hopefully add years to their lives.
[ROBBIE THORPE] We march in honour of our ancestors, whose blood colours this land.
[MERIKI ONUS] Some blackfullas call it Koori Christmas
because we just love getting together.
It just makes me really proud
and there is that kind of feeling in the air,
it’s NAIDOC, you know?
[LAURA THOMPSON] I’ve been to every single march since I was born, so this July,
not having that opportunity to march with my people, I was sad about that, and this event
was one way that I could still be active and mark the occasion of NAIDOC with Aboriginal people
and non-Aboriginal people all over the country.
[BONNIE SMITH] I’m in Bourke, running along the levy bank.
[JANE ENGLER] I would like to acknowedge that I'm running on the land of the Kaurna people.
[MARLEE SILVA] ...on Dharawal Country.
[BEN BURGESS] Always was...
[NICOLE DA SILVA: Always will be...
[KIDS & ADULTS] Aboriginal Land!
BIG ELECTRO BEATS
BEATS DROP OUT
[REPORTER]: NAIDOC’s origins go back to the first Aboriginal rights groups
and boycotts of Australia Day more than a century ago,
to the Day of Mourning on January 26, 1938,
one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world.
In the mid-50s, The Day of Mourning or Aborigines Day moved from January to July,
becoming a celebration as well as a protest.
The day became a week in 1975,
running from the first to the second Sunday in July.
Today, it’s known as NAIDOC Week.
[MARLEE SILVA] It feels really weird that NAIDOC isn’t happening in July this year.
It’s my favourite event of the year because a lot of other Aboriginal-specific events
are about mourning or reflection, whereas NAIDOC really feels like a celebration,
it's about how far we’ve come, it’s about all the amazing things that we’re continuing to do
and will continue to do.
We’ve had a late ring-in,
who talks a big game in our house and reckons that running's really easy.
Rocket Man, my Dad… what’s the furthest you’ve run recently?
[ROD SILVA] Ahhh, a hundred metres.
CHUCKLES
[MARLEE SILVA] So, we'll... tune back in… in a little while.
This NAIDOC run and the events that Clothing The Gap has been running is awesome because
it also invites non-Indigenous people to be a part of it, especially in the last couple
of weeks when we’ve seen the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement and a lot of people
wanting to know what they can to do to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,
and this is one way to start, it’s one way to start a conversation
and just be more conscious of this all the time.
We did it…
Do you reckon you’ll stop saying to me now, “I can do… 10 kays in my sleep,
I can do it easy?"
[ROD SILVA] Hey ah, remember that was my first run… so, not too bad.
[MARLEE SILVA] I’m just asking for a bit of credit, when I do it…
[ROD SILVA] Yeah, yeah… I admire what you’re doing.
[MARLEE SILVA] Success!
[MERIKI ONUS] So, I just finished my 21.1 kilometres...
The hardest time in my training was Black Lives Matter.
You know, I organised the Black Lives Matter march, one of the organisers, and two days before
a brotherboy that I went to school with,
he committed suicide, so we were dealing…
I was just getting all these calls
about Black Lives Matter.
I didn't speak about it in any of the media,
or anything like that, because of the sheer shock.
And so we had to deal with the extreme racism that we were seeing being played out within Australia,
and then Australia having this, you know, aha moment about being able to
talk about systemic racism for really one of the first times in the history of this country.
I don’t know if they can really understand
the multi-layer and the magnitude of
how Black Lives Matter really works in this country
and what that means in this country.
And if there was ever a time when I did need to run, it was then.
EMOTIVE HIP HOP BEATS
[CHRIS WARRIOR] Well, we did it on Wadawurrung Country, which is in Geelong,
and so I did it with my son Wilum who’s 5
and my daughter Immy who turned 2 last week.
You know, with NAIDOC doing a theme, Always Was, Always Be,
it's always gonna be that narrative of truth-telling,
which Clothing The Gap are very very well put together to be able to do that.
You know, it's a talking point when you're sitting around and you go,
oh cool, look at that beanie, or what does that mean on your shirt?
And you know, for people to be educated within that, so if you’re wearing a product, you know,
do a bit of research and find out why there is that narrative that is put on there,
and it's a conversation starter, you know, and that’s the most important bit,
we just want people to talk,
and have an open mind about what’s going on, that’s the most important thing.
[NAIDOC MARCH CHANT] Treaty! Land rights! Treaty!
EMOTIVE HIP HOP BEATS
[REPORTER] Thanks for watching. For guidance on supporting Indigenous businesses,
head to SupplyNation.org.au
to find Australia's largest national directory of verified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
And for more on the history of NAIDOC and its rescheduled dates and events in November 2020,
head to NAIDOC.org.au
and a quick mention now to our sponsor, here at Good Shout, FSW Shoes.
They're a family-run business and they deliver right around Australia.
Check out FSWshoes.com.au. We’ll see you next #GoodShoutFriday.
[ON-SCREEN INFORMATION] If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental ill-health, call or visit:
Lifeline.org.au – 13 11 14 BeyondBlue.org.au/forums – 1300 224 636 MensLine – 1300 789 978 Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467 headspace.org.au/yarnsafe – 1800 650 890 Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet – healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au