Reconciliation Week is a very important event on Australia’s calendar. While we have a strong focus here at school, it is also great to create links with the local community around reconciliation. This year the SRC executives were invited to share at the Reconciliation event at the Unley Town hall.

Uncle Mickey, was the host of the event and shared lots of information with the different schools and community members that attended. Michael Kumatpi Marrutya O’Brien, or Uncle Mickey, is a Senior Aboriginal Man – a descendant of the Kaurna and Narrunga  people, and a passionate advocate for Aboriginal culture, language and history. He spoke about the struggles that Indigenous Australians have had to endure as well as sharing the importance of Reconciliation for all Australians.

We also had performances from a dance group called Of Desert and Sea. This contemporary dance collective is made up of young Aboriginal women hailing from language groups across South Australia. Their dancers use contemporary cultural dance to connect with culture, kinship, traditional stories and language. They use elements of traditional cultural practice to inform contemporary movement to share their stories today.

Our SRC executives did a great job of speaking at this event. They spoke about why Reconciliation Week starts on May 27th and ends on June 3rd each year and the significance of these dates (The successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision). They also shared a personalised acknowledgment of country that they had written for Unley Primary School.