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NAIDOC Week: 4–11 July – Heal Country

The National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week is being marked across the country from July 4 to July 11 to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The theme for NAIDOC Week 2021 is Heal Country. It invites all Australians to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of our national heritage, and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.

During this week, we acknowledge the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their significant contribution to the wider community. In particular, we acknowledge the work of NCIRS National Indigenous Immunisation Coordinator Katrina Clark. A proud Barkindji Woman, Katrina is passionate about ensuring equity of access to vaccination for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We also acknowledge the NCIRS Cultural Governance Group, formed in late 2020, which provides advice to NCIRS and relevant stakeholders on how best to improve the uptake and timeliness of immunisation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

NAIDOC Week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in a COVID Safe way. You can find out more about how to be involved and a range of virtual events on the NAIDOC website.

Associated reading:

Learn more about the work of Katrina Clark, our National Indigenous Immunisation Coordinator and the team at NCIRS here.

Read this perspective in the MJA – First Nations peoples leading the way in COVID‐19 pandemic planning, response and management here.

Listen to Katrina Clark discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander immunisation with Rachael McGuire from the Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre here.

Read the latest NACCHO Aboriginal health news alerts here.

Download National NAIDOC logo and other social media resources here.