In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week, the teachers and staff of St Mary’s Primary School in Bairnsdale visited the Keeping Place at GEGAC this week, one of many school and business groups to have taken the opportunity to learn more about the culture and history of the GunaiKurnai people.
National Reconciliation Week is coming up, and there is no better time to immerse yourself in the culture, history and traditions of the original inhabitants of East Gippsland, the GunaiKurnai people.
For those of you who aren’t fully across what Reconciliation Week is all about (and even for those of you who are), here’s the key things to know.
The dates for National Reconciliation Week are always the same – May 27 to June 3.
Those dates mark two important moments in recent political and legal history for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
May 27 is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted to remove discriminatory language from the Australian Constitution, and clarify, for the first time, the citizenship status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
June 3 is the anniversary of the Australian High Court’s Mabo decision in 1992, which recognised the legal existence of native title for Indigenous Australians, overturning the legal fiction that Australia was uninhabited when claimed by Europeans.
The week between May 27 and June 3 is a time to celebrate Indigenous history and culture in Australia, and also to reflect on the shared history and culture that all Australians are a part of, and that we must better understand and embrace in our journey toward true reconciliation.
The day before Reconciliation Week begins, May 26, is National Sorry Day, which commemorates the Stolen Generations, a period when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities by the government.
So, the end of May and early June is both a moment of trauma and mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and one of celebration and reflection.
Whether you are of Indigenous heritage or not, one thing you can do to embrace the spirit of Reconciliation Week is to organise a tour of the Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place at the Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative (GEGAC).
The Keeping Place is not a museum, but a place to understand and appreciate the living, vibrant and continuing culture of the Gunaikurnai people, the original custodians of East Gippsland.
The Keeping Place is located on the grounds of GEGAC at 37-53 Dalmahoy St., Bairnsdale.
Guided tours of the Keeping Place are available, and we are happy to host group tours from schools, workplaces or other organisations.