National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's day was first celebrated on the 4th of August, 1988. Established as a day to celebrate First nations children and empower them with confidence and increase the sense of inclusion felt by our young people.
Historically, the 4th of August was used as a communal date for First Nations survivors of the stolen generation, who were stolen from their families at a young age, without knowing their birthdays.
At Wanyara, we think the celebration of our children is important. We have seen on many occasions, the impacts of colonisation on our young people's identity and the removal of our culture. We have seen tears in the eyes of our young people when trying to recall significant cultural or family information.
The impacts of past policies continue to have devastating implications for First nations youth. We are absolutely committed to creating platforms for our young people to be encouraged to explore and record their family's history, traditions and cultural history. We have designed unique programs for First Nations youth, to engage with elders, culture and the recording of their family history. We call these programs our "Cultural Connections" program.
What is the Cultural Connections program?
The cultural connections program is an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander young people to come together regularly , connecting with each other, local elders and mentors. Our programs include leadership activities, cultural recording, yarning circles, health workshops and opportunities for meaningful connections to be established.
We have created a journal, specifically for Aboriginal young people to record their family history, traditions and cultural connections. We see this resource as a tool for healing, bringing confidence in our identities and a greater understanding of how much we have overcome as a people.
If you would like to purchase a journal, or to purchase and donate a journal to a FN young person, please visit our online shop.
This is our way of making sure our programs impact this generation of First Nations young people along with the generations to come.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's day should be celebrated by all young people, we should encourage all children to celebrate our young people, providing them with opportunities to understand how special it is that our people have survived! We would love to see how you are celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's day tag us in your celebrations on instagram @wanyara.aus.
