Katanning Primary School students take part in Long Walk and create Piesse Park installation for NAIDOC Week

It was a day of cultural immersion for Katanning Primary School last week as it celebrated the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The school commemorated NAIDOC Week on July 27, with a day of activities honouring this year’s theme of Stand Up, Stand Up, Show Up. The activities started with a welcome to country delivered by staff member Lita Collard. Aboriginal and Islander education officer Leanne Eades followed with a talk about Essendon great Michael Long’s walk from his Melbourne home to Canberra in 2004, to highlight injustices facing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Ms Eades also talked about Long’s efforts to highlight racism, and how this resulted in a change to the rules of the AFL. Older cohorts walked from the Dore Street campus to Piesse Park in recognition of The Long Walk, which now takes place every year before the Dreamtime AFL match between Essendon and Richmond. Indigenous students added to the Friends of Piesse Park’s yarn bombing activities, wrapping a tree in knitted material showcasing the Aboriginal flag followed by classes planting handprint artworks in the ground. Katanning Primary School principal Anita Wills told students and staff NAIDOC Week was for the entire community, and this year’s themes could be embraced by all. “We can all work individually, and together, to care for our land and waters, in seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protection, in encouraging and welcoming truth-telling, in recognising and calling out racism,” she said. Ms Wills noted the use of the song We are Australian as the school’s song. “This song tells us that this is Aboriginal land and that unless we are Noongar, everyone here has come to Katanning from somewhere else,” she said. “It reminds us how fortunate we are to have Aboriginal classmates, educators and community members who use their lived experience and knowledge to deepen our learning. “This song makes us feel happy and proud to be here, living and learning together on Noongar country — it is a song of celebration for our school.”