Assistant Principal - Wellbeing 

- Happening Events

This week at O'Connor has been NAIDOC Week. The theme for 2022 has been Get Up Stand Up. The NAIDOC Website explains this "Get up! Stand up! Show up! – encourages all of us to champion institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative change while celebrating those who have already driven and led change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over generations". The O'Connor ATSI Focus Team led by Mr Russell organised a wonderful week of activities that celebrated the cultural beauty of Australia's first nations people.

In Studies of Religion, students at O'Connor learn about aspects of The Dreaming including kinship, obligations to the land and people and ceremonial life. In this course students become aware of Bob Randall's documentary, Kanyini where in explaining this concept refers to the full and rich life First Nations Peoples had before European settlement.  The word Kanyini means responsibility and unconditional love for all of creation. Bob Randall talks about 4 strands of Kanyini; 

• Ngura: A sense of belonging to home and land.
• Walytja: Family connecting with life.
• Kurunpa: Love, spirit or soul.
• Tjuukurpa: The belief about creation and the right way to live.

Successive Government policies including assimilation stripped First Nations people of these strands. This included the stolen generations and removal of people from the country they were responsible for. Worse still their culture was dismantled including language, ceremonial life and belief systems. This whole process is what we now know as dispossession. The ongoing effects of this still continue today including racism, health issues, education issues and generational trauma.

O'Connor students learn that The Land Rights Movement in an attempt to reconnect to Kanyini through court decisions and legislation especially Mabo, Native Title and Wik had an impact especially for those First Nations Peoples that these decisions affected. A reconnection with the land, so important to the concept of The Dreaming was restarted. For those not directly affected by the Land Rights movement the concept of reconciliation is vitally important. Through events such as NAIDOC Week, all Australians are learning about the potential that Aboriginal culture has to enrich the lives of all Australians. Concepts such as stewardship, family, connection, spirituality and the common good align with the values and principles of Christianity and should resonate with all Australians.

Bishop Kennedy in articulating Catholic values describes love of God and neighbour, stewardship of God's creation, sacredness of family, rights and responsibilities, solidarity and fraternity and dignity of the human person as underlying principles. It is not hard to see common ground here and it is no coincidence that First Nations Peoples have made a rich contribution to the Catholic Church while still maintaining a unique rich culture.

There is much work to do in the area of reconciliation. Ignorance and bigotry still provide obstacles but the fight is worth it and all Australians can help make a difference to the world and bring forth the kingdom by embracing it. Events such as NAIDOC week make a significant impact.

So again thank you to our awesome ATSI Focus Team and all those that contributed to, participated in and appreciated O'Connor Catholic College's celebration of NAIDOC Week.

Mr Damian Roff

Assistant Principal - Wellbeing