What Does Reconciliation Look Like?
BONNIE, STUDENT: I'm Bonnie, and our mob is the same.
CALLUM, STUDENT: My name is Callum. I'm from Koonibba which is near Ceduna.
SAPHIRA, STUDENT: Hi, so I'm Saphira and our mob is Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara.
ARLIAH, STUDENT: My name's Arliah and my mob is Wemba Wemba.
KRISTIAN, STUDENT: My name is Kristian, I'm from the Nukunu mob.
LEDGER, STUDENT: My name is Ledger and I'm from the Kokatha Mob.
STEPHEN, STUDENT: My name is Stephen and I'm from Ngarrindjeri Mob.
TRUDY, STUDENT: I'm Trudy. My mob is Wakka Wakka and Budjari around Queensland.
BELLA, STUDENT: My name is Bella, and I am a proud Pitjantjatjara from APY Lands woman.
LEDGER: The Aboriginal culture is not just one massive culture, it's all divided up into small groups and mobs.
KRISTIAN: If you look at a mob map of Australia, there are probably hundreds of different mobs all around the country. It's just really cool to see that so many people live here.
MICHELLE WAKIM, REPORTER: Once a year, these First Nations students come together for a Nunga Tag Sports Carnival on Kaurna Land in Adelaide, South Australia.
CALLUM: We're playing Nunga Tag, also known as Rugby Tag. It's been pretty fun.
TRUDY: It's just like rugby, without tackling.
BELLA: So, it's like, Oz tag.
This event is an opportunity to celebrate culture, make new mates and catch up with old ones.
TRUDY: My favourite part about Nunga Tag is like, that I get to play with my friends and all that. Just hang out with them and stuff, laugh with them and stuff.
ARLIAH: And it's like bringing the past, present and emerging people all together, like no matter like what mob you're from and everything. It's just like everyone just coming together and just having a good time.
And this carnival just happens to be held in the lead-up to Reconciliation Week.
TRUDY: Yeah, this is, like, a very nice way to come together, especially for Reconciliation Week. It's just like all of us as Aboriginal individuals kind of like celebrating together.
KRISTIAN: For me, it's like a great way to connect to the Aboriginal roots of the country, to get everybody involved and what it means to be an Aboriginal.
STEPHEN: Yeah, that's what he said basically but, yeah, so it's a, it's just really a great way to connect everybody, like into one essentially like group and reconcile with everyone.
STUDENT: We are grateful for the Aboriginal people and we're sorry.
Reconciliation Week falls between two really important dates. It starts on the 27th of May, which is the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, when 90% of Aussies voted to change the Constitution to make sure Indigenous people were counted alongside and subject to the same laws as other Australian citizens. It ends on the 3rd of June, also known as Mabo Day, when the High Court of Australia recognised that First Nations people had rights to land their ancestors had lived on for thousands of years. Reconciliation Week is about celebrating these milestones and others.
KEVIN RUDD, FORMER AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: And for their families left behind, we say sorry.
And the people who fought for them. But, it's also about recognising all the work that still needs to be done.
KRISTIAN: We still get a lot of racism, people calling us slurs, being disrespectful to the country, just stuff like that. Aboriginal elders should have a say in what happens like with their land, like with the implement of like houses and that type of stuff.
STEPHEN: He keeps, he keeps, I think he's like reading my mind because like that's what I was going to say, so yeah.
MIRABELLE: Some people can feel discriminated, left out. It's a big problem that has been around for ages and ages. And the uninvolvement of people of colour is really bad. We need to fix that. It's 2025.
BONNIE: I think part of the problem is that some of the Indigenous people still aren't able to get the learning experience than others and it just separates us a little bit more.
These students say there needs to be more education about First Nations cultures and that people need to take every chance they can to come together to listen and learn from each other.
MIRABELLE: I want every future like generation of the First Nations and of Australia to learn about the history, to look at artefacts, because I don't think it's talked about enough.
BELLA: I think language and culture should be included more often in schools, just to make it feel more alive.
CALLUM: Teach people from a young age that, like, we are all human.
BONNIE: Having more events like this today would make it easier for people to learn about Indigenous people and First Nations people.
MIRABELLE: If like someone asks where you're from, feel really confident, like, it's a good thing to share your culture.
STEPHEN: I hope that people will like just be more open, like with every culture and just basically everyone in Australia, no matter their race, no matter their identity, no matter, no matter anything.
STUDENTS: Happy Reconciliation Week!
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