SCHOOLS across the Gannawarra Shire will take part in four days of learning through dance with the Indigenous Outreach Projects (IOP), starting March 3.
Students will also do workshops with Little Long Walk in preparation for the annual walk later in the year.
Northern District Community Health (NDCH) health promotion team leader Tanya Maher-Toose said the immersive style of learning will support cultural knowledge of the Gannawarra Aboriginal community.
“One of our goals this year was to support our young Aboriginal children and youth to proudly wear their Aboriginality on their sleeve, and offer them services where they are,” she said.
“IOP is a national award-winning program that has been providing services for over 20 years, doing dance workshops with young people and teaching culture while they’re doing it.
“They will encourage Aboriginal children and young people to stand proud in their Aboriginality and build appreciation in the rest of the community for their journey and culture.”
Ms Maher-Toose said 12 schools across the Gannawarra Shire were eager to get involved and host the program for their students.
“Schools throughout the Shire have led the way in supporting the Aboriginal community and appreciating their culture,” she said.
“Over 1300 students across those 12 schools will participate in the workshops that will teach about the traditions and expertise that Aboriginal people showed for over 40,000 years, the meaning of the Aboriginal flag and how it came about, a little bit of history of The Long Walk, and explore their own values associated with Aboriginal people so they can consider the ways they can celebrate.”
The workshops being held at schools is designed to make them accessible to more students.
“We have been involved in the Reconciliation Walk in Kerang and have had really great attendance at that, and when we talk about reconciliation that is for the whole community to lean in and reflect,” Ms Maher-Toose said.
“We can look at and understand Australia’s history and the role that Aboriginal people have played in that history – it’s not just one organisation or group, it’s the whole of Australia that is involved.”
NDCH is bringing IOP and Little Long Walk to Gannawarra with the support of the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal and Gannawarra Shire Flood Recovery Funding through the Gannawarra Community Resilience Committee.
