Aspire Atherstone’s Little Long Walk
On Friday 13th of September, Aspire Early Education Atherstone hosted a Little Long Walk and smoking ceremony at their centre. The 'The Long Walk' is a charity inspired by Michael Long’s Walk to Canberra to highlight the lives and struggles of Indigenous Australians and reinstate the Indigenous people's plight back on the National Agenda.
Aspire Atherstone decided to participate in The Little Long Walk as an opportunity to celebrate and educate our children, staff and the whole community about First Nations People and Cultures. They also invited Senior Elders who gave a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, which our staff, children and families were honoured to be a part of.
Learn more about Atherstone’s beautiful Smoking ceremony and Little Long Walk event below.
To begin the event, Aspire Atherstone welcomed respected senior Elder of the Wurundjeri people, Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin AO, and her son Craig Murphy Wandin to take them through a traditional Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony ahead of their inaugural Little Long Walk. Aunty Joy explained that the purpose of a smoking ceremony is to cleanse and open up to good spirit. She welcomed the staff and children to walk through the smoke for individual cleansing.
Craig then took the children on a storytelling journey guided by the Welcome to Country picture book written by Aunty Joy with exquisite illustrations by indigenous artist Lisa Kennedy.
Craig taught the children the indigenous names of our native animals, including Waa – the crow. As if on queue, and much to the delight of the children, a local Waa flew in to visit, perched on a lamp post above and stayed to hear more stories and discover some of the history and traditions of the Wurundjeri people.
It was a beautiful experience for all the staff and children to experience part of our Indigenous culture, and one that they will definitely remember.
Check our some of the beautiful photos of the event below!
After the ceremony, the staff and children then embarked on their Little Long Walk around the Atherstone neighborhood carrying the beautiful banners they had created when Elder Aunty Joy came to visit the centre. The banners were painted in Aboriginal colours and featured some of the children’s handprints. It was a wonderful addition to the Little Long Walk and really brought the children and staff together.
The Little Long Walk pays homage to Michael Long's walk to Canberra in 2004 to get Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues back on the agenda of parliament. Little Long Walks are designed to educate our students while celebrating our First Nations people and cultures.
It was a unique opportunity for all to connect with the rich heritage of our indigenous communities, come together, learn and celebrate.
Atherstone are so thankful for everyone who attended the event and showed their support. The centre is excited to continue to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in their classrooms and curriculum.
If you would like to learn more about the Little Long Walk, visit the website here.
To book a tour of our Atherstone centre and learn more about our curriculum, book a tour online here or contact our team on 1800 978 429.
