Ngapigan Djuyal
buyiba watiga
nyaaga murapan
nyutja bathu
numa barray
ngarrangga guying-gambal
mungga wirray

Grandmother Talk
breath in the tree
see the flowers
taste the water
feel the land
listen to the birdsong
smell the bush

~ Aunty Anjilkurri Rhonda Radley from ‘Ngapigan (Grandmother)’

For Our Elders NAIDOC Learning Resource

Celebrating the 2023 NAIDOC Theme ‘For our Elders’, Poetry in First Languages is honouring and highlighting Elders through new poem commissions and a new learning resource, created in collaboration with Erin's Learning Channel.

This curriculum-aligned resource invites students and teachers to think, reflect and yarn about the importance of our Elders and what the NAIDOC theme means. We’ll be sharing excerpts and activities from the NAIDOC resource across this week.

Indigenous Elders honour traditions through story, song and poetry; preserving their culture and passing down wisdom to future generations. Their voices are a testament to the resilience and beauty of Indigenous cultures.

This year we have commissioned works from Indigenous Elders, including artwork from Uncle Steven Russell, and poems from Aunty Theresa Sainty, Aunty Rhonda Radley, and Aunty Kerry Moran.