Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday
NAIDOC Week begins with the Church celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday (07 July 2019).
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council has produced an excellent resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday message for 2019 focuses on suicide. Their video message calling for action and collaboration can be found on Youtube or downloaded for MP4.
The bishops have identified five key principles to help government, faith-based and other organisations to walk together with communities struggling to cope with and to prevent the further loss of young lives:
- encouraging all organisations to work together to maximise results;
- true respect for the principle of self-determination;
- placing the common good at the heart of all endeavours;
- all stakeholders being motivated by respect and without self-interest; and
- that prevention and cure are both necessary.
If hope is part of the antidote to suicide, then NAIDOC week is a potential source of hope. The 2019 NAIDOC week theme is VOICE. TREATY. TRUTH. Let’s work together for a shared future. This theme reinforces the message of the Uluru Statement. You may want to revisit a post from May on the AMPJP website that contains some resources to assist people understand the Uluru Statement.
Image: Queenie McKenzie’s artwork courtesy of NATSICC
