National Walk of Truth

National Walk for Truth excursion

On the first day of Term 2, twenty NPS Year 6 students were privileged to be invited to be invited to participate in Travis Lovett’s National Walk for Truth.

Travis Lovett is a proud Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man who was a former member of the Yoorrook Justice Committee. Last year, he walked from Portland, in Western Victoria, to State Parliament to deliver a message about the need to know the truth about Australia’s First Nations history. This year, Travis is walking from Melbourne to Canberra to deliver the same message to federal parliament.

When we arrived at the event, we saw Travis Lovett and he came over to us to take a few photos with him. He showed us the kangaroo skin with the message to the Prime Minister. Then he handed it to us and let us read it.

He also had a message stick to pass on to Parliament. We got to engrave a symbol, our initials or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag into the message stick.

Uncle Bill Nicholson talked us through what the Walk for Truth is about and its meaning. Aunty Esme Bamblett made a beautiful speech about what this event means for First Nations people, then we all lined up to do the smoking ceremony, which consisted of making a smoke out of burning gum leaves and walking through the smoke to cleanse yourself. It is believed by indigenous people that when it cleanses you it brings good spirits.

We all got to walk a few laps of Sir Doug Nicholls oval with Travis before he and his team set off on his journey to Canberra.

A special mention goes to Nell and Zosia for making bags for everyone from recycled clothing, and to Sofia and Ebony for helping to write this report.

STUDENT REFLECTIONS FROM THE DAY:

“I liked the smoke, it smelt like spices.” - Ebony

“I loved listening to the wise words of Aunty Esme.” – Sylvie

“The smoke made me feel alive” – Angus

“Walking around the oval made me feel more supportive” – Alvy

“The smoking ceremony was a very calming part of the event.” - Charlie

“I liked burning my initials into the message stick.” – Marni

“I liked the feeling of togetherness throughout the whole event.” – Lenka

“I enjoyed the walk around the oval.” - Oskar

“I thought it was nice to walk around with so many students participating.” - Felix

“I liked burning the stick.” – Sofia

“As soon as we arrived it felt very welcoming, right off the bat. Everyone was really nice. A great learning experience.” – Georgia