What this year’s NAIDOC theme means to these Indigenous businesses
For those readers who are unfamiliar with what NAIDOC week is or what it stands for, let us help bring you up to speed. NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee and the weeklong observance acts as a celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If you’d like to learn more about the week, you can check out something we prepared a little earlier!
This year’s NAIDOC theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and we Business Chicks have been working with our BFF’s over at Ngarrimili to help educate ourselves on how we could use our platform to best support Indigenous Australians women this NAIDOC week.
We thought we’d put the spotlight on incredible Indigenous Australian businesses (you ought to follow on Instagram and support this week and beyond) and asked them what this year’s theme meant to them.
@amberdays_thelabel
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A post shared by Amber Days ~ Inspired by the Australian Bush, Desert and Sea (@amberdays_thelabel)
Inspired by the iconic Australian bush, dessert, and sea, Amber Days is an Aboriginal-owned ethical children’s wear label. Made for the next generation of change makers, Amber days is the perfect fit for your mindful, adventurous and free-spirited little ones.
When we asked Amber Days founder, Corina what this year’s NAIDOC theme meant to her, she told us “To me makes me reflect on all the women in my life and how they have always continued to get up, stand up and show up whilst raising families despite the barriers and oppression they have faced. This strength is what I have always been inspired by and why we have such a focus on supporting women with our platform.”
@yarnstrongsista
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With over 20 years of street cred, Yarn Strong Sista specialises and offers a range of services on Aboriginal & anti-bias education resources & workshops. Indigenous owned and run, Yarn Strong Sista provides authentic Aboriginal training for early childhood professionals, primary school teachers and corporate teams.
When we put this year’s NAIDOC theme to them, they told Business Chicks it “gives me strength as I reflect on staunch Aboriginal Elders who were my role models. The late Aunty Iris Lovett-Gardiner, Gunditjmara Elder & Activist was a strong Aboriginal advocate for our Boorai’s (children) and today in our business Yarn Strong Sista, we continue to build First Nations Children’s Identities through our programs and educational resources we develop.”
@jarin_street_
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We don’t play favourites, but we can’t deny we have a (very!) special place in our our for Jarin Baigent and her activewear label, Jarin Street. The store (which also happens to be the first Aboriginal fashion retailer in a Westfield) is more than a retail outlet. Jarin Street is centred around being a meeting place for people to share stories or learn more about the oldest Indigenous culture in the world. She proudly employs First Nations People staff who play a vital role in servicing and educating customers of their rich and vibrant culture.
Jarin told Business Chicks this year’s NAIDOC Week theme is “a call to action.”
"It means get comfy with being uncomfortable. Have the conversations, call out that casual racism, stand up to that family member, don’t be passive any longer. It really means to take responsibility for what you can do to have impact and make much needed change. A great way to have a very easy yet massive impact is to get behind blak-owned businesses. And by that, I mean 100% blak owned. There’s a lot of misleading businesses out there who might appear Aboriginal owned but aren’t. So, ask the question - are you Aboriginal owned? Always check the “about us” section on websites. And if in doubt, buy from Trading Blak, where you know you’re buying from 100% blak-owned businesses because we’ve done the work for you. Once you have the information you can make an informed decision on where to place your purchase. Buying from 100% blak-owned businesses has 100% impact and you can’t beat that.”
@krubicreative
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Sister trio, Emily, Clara and Sharon take inspiration from nature to create the beautiful and unique artwork you find on their account, Krubi Creative. With a special focus on rivers systems and their significance to the Gundungarra tribe, we bet you'll be adding one (or more!) pieces of their art to your cart ASAP.
For the girls, NAIDOC’s theme “calls for strength within our people. It encourages us to be courageous and confident in who we are, and what we stand for. We love embracing this theme and have certainly felt the strength of community and the power of uplifting each other throughout this very special NAIDOC week.” As Jarin touched on above, what many non-Indigenous Australians don’t realise is unfortunately there are many businesses who try to pass off as Indigenous Australian businesses. To be sure you’re supporting Indigenous Australian-owned businesses and their work, organisations like Trading Blak are great resources to check out!