To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2021, we invite you to join our wonderful Community family and welcome you to Mantaka, Kuranda, here in beautiful North Queensland.

The Indigenous Djabugay people call the ancient forests of Kuranda home and retain their strong cultural ties with the land. The community embraced the NAIDOC week theme “Heal Country” by coming together to celebrate and demonstrate, fire making, digeridoo, spear throwing, dancing, bayu building, weaving and most importantly, family.

We celebrated the theme of Heal Country at TRACQS Mantaka Community Gardens Activity, where participants through the Community Development Program (CDP) have worked hard on the land to create lush gardens to provide healthy food choices and a meeting place for health and wellbeing.

The theme for 2021 National NAIDOC Week: Heal Country recognises Country that we speak about like a person, sustaining our lives in every aspect – spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.

Welcome to Country is delivered by Barry Hunter Snr. The digeridoo music track was performed by our talented TRACQS Participants Jonathan Nandy (Nguda, cloud) and Leslie Snider (Gurrunga, kookaburra)

Firemaking: Walter Brim (Guginy, flying fox), Georgina Hobbler (Bagarra Bandjil, rainforest girl) and Jonathan Nandy.

Weaving: Rhonda Brim (Wulam, black bream), Sandy Scott (Dhinawan, emu) (and Delvene Richards (Nalmal-Barra, eagle hawk).

Dancers: Jonathan Nandy, Ruby Nandy (Wanun, scrub turkey) and Angelina Brim.

Our artistic participants and activities for CDP showcased an impressive mix of creative talent ranging from music, dance, cultural activities, photography, videography, and basket weaving for this production. CDP participants also provided catering and food preparation on the day.

A big thank you to everyone involved in this production, which had a real sense of community, family, excitement, and joy in this local creative collaboration and being out in community and Country.

Special thanks and credit to the Mantaka Community and TRACQS activities which include:

  • Mantaka Community Gardens
  • Kuranda Digital MEDIA
  • Kuranda Photography
  • Keeping Our Culture Alive
  • Kowrowa Food Preparation
  • Trade and Skills and Property Maintenance Activity

#NAIDOC2021 #NAIDOCWeek #HealCountry

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