On Tuesday twenty seventh Could, which marked the beginning of National Reconciliation Week 2025, NARI workers had the privilege of becoming a member of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung cultural strolling tour to Dights Falls. Led by the extremely educated Joe from the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, the tour was a transferring and eye-opening journey. Joe shared tales and insights concerning the Wurundjeri folks – their customs, their deep connection to the land, and the methods they’ve cared for it for tens of 1000’s of years. It was a transferring and eye-opening expertise that introduced our values of reconciliation and respect to life in a really significant manner.
Our workers additionally took a while after the stroll to replicate on their learnings – right here’s a snapshot of what they needed to say:
“I used to be fascinated by Joe’s description of the cultural burns and the way the fireplace is a ‘cool’ hearth, solely burning what is able to be burnt – and contributing to the general sustainability of nation. And reinforces the interconnectedness of individuals, nation and tradition.”
“The theme of sustainability working by means of the First Nations folks’s lives – solely taking as a lot meals as wanted and leaving the remainder to proceed to develop and repopulate for the following season’s cycle. This contains the apply of tree scarring, the place they minimize items off the trunk to create bowls or child carriers, for instance, permitting the scar to heal so the tree continues to thrive.”
“From understanding that “mob” is a deeply rooted time period utilized by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to suggest group and belonging, to listening to about conventional contraceptive practices utilized by Aboriginal ladies, the custom of possum fur cloaks – given at start, cherished by means of life, and buried with their proprietor. The entire stroll was a robust studying expertise, and I used to be struck by the parallels between the sustainability practices of First Nations folks right here and people of Indigenous communities in my very own nation, particularly within the area I come from. It jogged my memory how a lot knowledge exists in conventional information techniques, and the way a lot we will all be taught by listening.”
