Aboriginal Performance at St.Ignatius Riverview

National Reconciliation Day is on May 26 in Australia and it is a day for healing for the Indigenous peoples of Australia who were moved out of their communities when the Europeans settled in Australia. This day fell on a school day for me and I was fortunate enough to watch a very interesting assembly. The school has a number of Aboriginal boys because they give out scholarships every year to provide these boys with an education. The Aboriginal boys from the high school worked together with the younger Aboriginal boys to choreograph a performance that told a story of the indigenous animals to Australia. The whole upper and lower school gathered in the auditorium to watch this performance. A guest speaker was brought in to talk about the Day of Reconciliation and a small prayer service was conducted. The boys ended the ceremony by playing Aboriginal instruments.

I though this assembly was such a great thing for the school to do. I learned so much about the "Stolen Generation" of the indigenous people of Australia just from this assembly and I think it was great for the whole school to experience. One of the most interesting things about it was that the Aboriginal boys were responsible for coming up with their own performance and practicing it. They also took turns saying little speeches about how their families were affected and it was very personal and moving to hear. It was very reflective of the culture of Australia and the racism that still is present in Australia. The country is definitely making progress in removing this racism by raising awareness and information but they still have a lot of progress to make.