School Holiday First Nations activities:
Here at YPRL we are proud to support our First Nations communities. We have partnered with them to bring you some fantastic First Nations activities over the April school holidays. We have games, dance, and boomerang throwing to get you active; ground-breaking technology sessions; and creating Indigenous art.
Boomerangs are used in Indigenous culture for hunting, digging, and ceremonies. Learn about the cultural significance of boomerangs and have a go at throwing one. These sessions are held at outdoor community spaces. Book your place at Diamond Valley!
Learn to play Indigenous Games as an engaging way to imitate hunting, fishing, and gathering, and provide important cultural understandings. Take part at our Library Hub at Galada and at Whittlesea Library
Enjoy a colourful journey through traditions, symbols, and stories of Indigenous art and culture with Aunty Karen Lovett. With her expert guidance, you will learn about the different techniques and materials used in creating beautiful works of art. This program runs Lalor Library.
We have dozens of other school holiday activities this April. So, check them out and have fun at the library!
Books of Interest:
Come Together: Things every Aussie kid should know about the First Peoples by Isaiah Firebrace
Also available as an eBook (Libby).
In this book, Isaiah, a Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara man, establishes a foundation of First Nations knowledge with 20 key topics and connects us to each topic through his own personal story and culture, from the importance of Elders to the Dreaming.
Indigenous Australian Cultures by Mary Colson
Also available as an eBook (Libby).
This book describes the Indigenous Australian culture including fine arts, legends, and the culture's global influence.
Bush Tracks by Ros Moriarty
Also available as an eBook (Libby and BorrowBox).
What can you see? Follow the clues that landscape, seasons, weather, the stars, the moon and the sun give to navigate bush tracks and find the Australian animal. A lyrical, fun story about tracking animals in the bush featuring vibrant illustrations by Balarinji, Australia's leading Indigenous design studio.
Heroes, Rebels and Innovators: Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from history by Karen Wyld
Also available on StoryBox, read by Tamala Shelton.
Be inspired and amazed by these incredible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander icons! This book tells seven inspiring stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people every Australian should know.
Young Dark Emu : A Truer History by Bruce Pasco
Also available as an Audiobook (MP3), eAudio (BorrowBox), eBook (BorrowBox), eBook (Libby).
Using the accounts of early European explorers, colonists and farmers, Bruce Pascoe compellingly argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer label for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. He allows the reader to see Australia as it was before Europeans arrived - a land of cultivated farming areas, productive fisheries, permanent homes, and an understanding of the environment and its natural resources that supported thriving villages across the continent. Young Dark Emu - A Truer History asks young readers to consider a different version of Australia's history pre-European colonisation.