Every July, social media fills with beautiful artwork, schools proudly share photos of children’s activities, and educators across Australia celebrate NAIDOC Week with genuine enthusiasm and good intentions.
And that’s something worth celebrating.
NAIDOC Week is a powerful opportunity to honour the histories, cultures, achievements and continuing contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It provides an important national moment to reflect, celebrate and learn together.
But here’s the question we all need to ask ourselves:
What happens on the other 51 weeks of the year?
If Aboriginal perspectives only appear during NAIDOC Week or National Reconciliation Week, we haven’t embedded culture, we’ve scheduled it.
The goal shouldn’t be to make NAIDOC Week bigger.
The goal should be to make the rest of the year look a little more like NAIDOC Week.
NAIDOC Week Was Never Meant to Carry the Whole Load
Sometimes, without meaning to, educators can fall into what I call the “tokenism trap.”
It often looks something like this:
- Aboriginal books come off the shelf in July.
- The yarning circle gets dusted off for Reconciliation Week.
- Children paint flags, create dot paintings or make handprints.
- An Acknowledgement of Country is practised for assemblies.
- Then everything quietly returns to “normal.”
The reality is that Aboriginal cultures are not a theme. They are not an event. They are not an annual unit of work.
Aboriginal peoples are the oldest continuing cultures on Earth. Our knowledge systems, histories, languages, sciences, philosophies and ways of caring for Country are living, evolving and relevant every single day.
Imagine if children only learnt about sustainability during one week each year.
Or kindness. Or literacy.
We know learning doesn’t work that way. Culture shouldn’t either.
NAIDOC Week Should Be the Celebration, Not the Curriculum
One of the biggest mindset shifts educators can make is seeing NAIDOC Week differently.
Instead of asking, “What should we do for NAIDOC?”
Ask, “What have we been doing all year that NAIDOC Week gives us the opportunity to celebrate?”
When Aboriginal perspectives are embedded throughout everyday practice, NAIDOC Week becomes something incredibly special.
Children already know local stories. They already recognise local language. They already understand whose Country they are on. They already have relationships with local Elders and community members.
They already see Aboriginal culture reflected in their environment, their curriculum, their books, their conversations and their play.
NAIDOC Week then becomes a joyful celebration of learning that has been unfolding all year, not a frantic attempt to squeeze an entire culture into five days.
You Can’t Embed Perspectives You Don’t Know
This is perhaps the most important point of all. One of the questions I hear most often is, “How do we authentically embed Aboriginal perspectives?”
My answer is always the same.
Start by knowing your community.
There is no single Aboriginal perspective. Every Nation has its own histories, languages, stories, protocols, significant places and ways of knowing, being and doing. What is culturally significant on one Country may not be on another.
The stories your local community wants children to learn may be completely different from those shared elsewhere. Authentic practice begins with relationships, not resources.
It means slowing down. Listening more than speaking. Being curious. Showing up consistently. Building trust over time.
Community isn’t something we “consult” once a year. It’s something we build relationships with year after year.
Relationships Before Resources
Many educators spend hours searching Pinterest or Google for Aboriginal activities. Instead, imagine spending that same time getting to know your local community:
- Attend community events.
- Visit local cultural centres.
- Support local exhibitions.
- Invite local voices into your service when relationships allow.
- Ask respectfully what community would like children to know about this place.
Those conversations are worth far more than downloading another colouring sheet.
When relationships come first, curriculum becomes richer, more meaningful and more authentic.
Learning Is Never Finished
One of the biggest misconceptions is believing there will come a day when we’ve learnt “enough.”
There isn’t.
Good educators are lifelong learners. Cultural responsiveness isn’t a destination. It’s an ongoing journey of listening, reflecting, reading, questioning and sometimes being uncomfortable.
Attend workshops. Read books written by Aboriginal authors. Listen to Aboriginal podcasts. Follow Aboriginal educators and organisations.Watch documentaries. Reflect on your own assumptions.
Stay curious.
Most importantly, recognise that learning doesn’t stop once you’ve attended one professional development session. If our understanding isn’t growing, neither is our practice.
Support Aboriginal Businesses Every Month
If we genuinely value Aboriginal culture, our support shouldn’t only appear when everyone else is buying NAIDOC merchandise. Think about where your service spends its money throughout the year.
- Can you purchase children’s books from Aboriginal authors?
- Buy resources created by Aboriginal educators?
- Commission local artists?
- Use Aboriginal-owned catering for events?
- Purchase gifts from Aboriginal businesses?
- Invest in professional learning delivered by Aboriginal organisations?
Economic participation is an important part of reconciliation. Supporting Aboriginal businesses throughout the year helps create opportunities for communities, families and future generations. Reconciliation isn’t just something we teach.
It’s something we practise.
Reconciliation Happens Within Your Sphere of Influence
Many educators wonder how they can make a difference. The truth is, you don’t have to change Australia overnight. You only have to influence the people around you.
Children. Families. Colleagues. Students. Volunteers. Your workplace.
Every respectful conversation matters. Every stereotype gently challenged matters. Every family who begins learning alongside their child matters. Every colleague encouraged to think differently matters.
Reconciliation grows person by person. Relationship by relationship. Community by community.
Small Things, Every Day
Embedding Aboriginal perspectives isn’t about creating extraordinary moments. It’s about consistently creating ordinary ones.
It might look like:
- reading books by Aboriginal authors all year
- acknowledging local language throughout daily routines
- exploring seasonal changes through local Aboriginal knowledge
- learning about local plants and animals
- inviting children to care for Country through everyday environmental practices
- reflecting Aboriginal perspectives within planning documentation
- displaying local community voices rather than generic resources
- building ongoing partnerships with local Aboriginal organisations
- asking whose voices are represented—and whose are missing
- continually reflecting on how your curriculum mirrors the community you serve.
None of these need to wait for July.
Beyond the Calendar
NAIDOC Week matters. National Reconciliation Week matters.
These national events give us opportunities to celebrate, advocate, connect and reflect together. But they should never be the only time Aboriginal perspectives are visible.
When Aboriginal perspectives are embedded every day, NAIDOC Week becomes what it was always meant to be:
- A celebration of relationships already built.
- Learning already happening.
- Communities already connected.
- Children already growing into respectful, culturally responsive citizens.
Because reconciliation isn’t a week. It’s a way of working.
And culture isn’t something we visit. It’s something we learn to walk alongside, every single day.
