🖤 NAIDOC Week 2025 – Strength, Vision & Legacy

Teaching My Son Our Culture, Side by Side

NAIDOC Week 2025 has been one of those quietly powerful weeks for me and my little one. This year’s theme - The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy - felt especially close to home as I spent the week sharing culture with my son and watching him connect to it in his own way.

His preschool has always been supportive of Indigenous culture, which I’m so grateful for. A while back, I gave them a set of Gathang language cards - simple everyday words in our language. The cards were printed, laminated, and paired with beautiful artwork to help the burray (kids) engage with them in a way that felt fun and respectful. 

To contribute something even more special, my son and I brought in a book written by a relative of ours - The Bunyip and the Stars by Adam Duncan. It’s a Dreamtime story that speaks to family, bunyips, and the creation of the stars. His preschool room has been reading the book throughout the week and doing related activities based on its themes. The fact that the story is part of our family and our culture made it all the more meaningful to share and seeing our story alive in that space meant a lot to me and to burraba burray (my son). You can buy The Bunyip and the Stars at the National Museum of Australia and other places online.

At home, we continued the week by watching Gathang Djuyal: Gathang Stories - a DVD with oral storytelling in Gathang and English translations, from Biripi Country. We listened to stories like How Taree Got Its Name and The Whale and the Shark. It was one of those moments where we were both learning together, sitting quietly, taking it all in with genuine interest. Reflecting on how those stories will help shape his future. You can buy Gathang Djuyal: Gathang Stories at Abbey's Bookstore.

We’re also looking forward to attending a Smoking Ceremony at burraba burray's preschool this coming Monday. It’s another chance to be present and grounded in culture - and another step in walking this path with my son, not just for NAIDOC Week but all year round.

NAIDOC isn’t just a date on the calendar for me - it’s a reminder of what matters.

Culture. Language. Story. Connection.

And the strength that comes from passing all of that on to the next generation.

Always was. Always will be. 🖤💛❤️

- Ariane Duncan, Co-Founder of Nambi Home

Disclaimer:
The links shared in this post to Biripi/Gathang language and cultural resources are not affiliate links. They have been included independently and reflect my personal choice to support and share these valuable materials.