NAIDOC Resource:

NAIDOC week is an opportunity for students to celebrate and champion First Nations screen stories in the classroom. The official week is 7-14 July 2024, with schools planning for activities throughout the year. The theme for 2024 is a strong statement to make space for bold conversations, and to highlight the diverse and remarkable achievements, contributions, and knowledges passed down through generations: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud!  

This resource provides a series of curated, age-appropriate screen stories, with a discussion point and creative response for students in Foundation to Year 10. Invite culture leaders and knowledge holders featured in these screen texts into the classroom for NAIDOC and beyond – to celebrate the resilience, generosity, creativity, and enduring strength of the oldest living culture in the world.  

Eddie’s Lil’Homies – Episode 2, ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ 
Duration: 12 minutes 
Available at: NITV, Netflix or SBS On Demand  

Watch 

Discuss 

Being deadly is not just about having skills and strengths, but also knowing how and when to use them. Eddie is a rock, paper, scissors champion and a supportive friend who shows kindness and generosity to help others. 

Reflect on the ways that Eddie supports his friend Tal to be a champion just like him. Then, in small groups, brainstorm some ways we can ignite others to feel positivity and courage, just like Eddie did.  

Create 

Draw yourself (self-portrait) as a character in Eddies Lil’ Homies. Imagine Eddie is sharing his knowledges with you – to support your journey towards being a champion! 

Rap-along

Extension 

• Find more lessons and Rap-along clips in the Eddie’s Lil’ Homies resource.  

• Meet the legendary Eddie Betts, an Aboriginal man with connections to the Gubrun People of the Kalgoorlie Goldfields and Wirangu/Kokatha People of the Far-West Coast of South Australia. A creator of the Eddies Lil’ Homies series, Eddie speaks about how and why kindness and friendship are important to the characters’ adventures in this on-demand virtual workshop.   

• Read Eddie Betts’ books My Kind and My People. 

Red Dirt Riders – Episode 4, ‘Harding Dam’ 
Duration: 14 Minutes (Clip: 09:00-12:32) 
Available at: SBS on Demand, ABC iview, ACTF digital download  

Watch  

In this 3-minute clip from the episode ‘Harding Dam’, the red dirt riders learn about making damper with Yindjibaarndi Elder Nanna Allery. She spends time with the young riders, telling yarns and showing them how to make delicious mardumirri (damper) on the fire.  

Discuss 

Nanna Allery is proud to tell the yarn about when she was young, when she learned how to make mardumirri (damper) on the fire by watching others.  

• Why is food an important part of our cultures? Why do you think Nanna Allery calls upon the red dirt riders to make her mardumirri (damper) next time? 

Create 

Make damper to share with your learning community. Consider sending an invitation to family and culture leaders from your region, to sit and yarn with you while eating warm damper together. 

Extension 

Find more learning tasks for the series: 

• Red Dirt Riders Resource  

• Red Dirt Riders Digital Music Composition Resource

Windcatcher  
Duration: 80 Minutes (Trailer: 1:48)
Available on: Stan  

Watch  

In the introduction of Windcatcher, we are dazzled by an advertisement for the ‘Terminal Velocity’ sneakers, then we meet the lead character Percy Boy Collins (Bundjalung primary schooler, Lennox Monaghan). Percy Boy has big dreams and many obstacles to overcome; it’s a good thing he has family and friends to support him. 

Discuss 

Percy Boy demonstrates determination, grit, and perseverance, even when things don’t turn out how he planned.  

• Why is goal setting important? What happens when we face failure the first time? How might we bounce back from obstacles?  

Create  

Percy needs a new pair of shoes and dreams of saving enough money to buy the ‘Terminal Velocity’ sneakers, advertised as having ‘…speed so fast they’re DEADLY!’.  Design a pair of special edition NAIDOC-themed shoes, and an accompanying shoe box, especially for speedy sprinter Percy Boy Collins. 

Built To Survive – Episode 4, ‘Coastal Critters’ 
Duration: 9 minutes (Clip: 00:00-8:50) 
Available at: ACTF digital download, ABC iview 

Watch  

In this 9-minute clip from the episode ‘Coastal Critters’, First Nations host Phil Breslin heads along the rugged cliffs and sandy flats of the coast. Here he finds a master of the skies - the white-bellied sea eagle. We meet Matt Burns, a Quandamooka man from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, QLD) who demonstrates how the eagle informs spear fishing knowledges.  

Discuss 

The white bellied sea eagle is a master of hunting. Phil Breslin and Matt Burns, a Quandamooka man from Minjerribah, share how First Nations design and technology is informed by paying attention to the mirrigimpa (sea eagle). This hunter of the skies is a design reference for the development and application of fishing tools. 

• Discuss the ways the fishing spear is informed by an animal in Built to Survive.  

How is the spear referencing the mirrigimpa (sea eagle) in both physical design and expert use? 

Create  

Research an animal from your local area, finding out what they eat and how they survive and thrive in your environment. Reference their physical features and skills to develop an idea for a tool. You may like to source another Built to Survive episode featuring an ecosystem you live in or nearby.  

Extension 

Find more lessons in the Built to Survive resource. 

Crazy Fun Park – Episode 7, ‘Friends With Feelings’  
Duration: 28 minutes 
Available at: ACTF digital download, ABC iview  

Watch + Review

In the episode ‘Friends with Feelings’, Nimrod (Pedrea Jackson) is reunited with Aunty Winnie (Rachael Maza) more than 30 years after his fatal accident at Crazy Fun Park.  

Review the interview with Enoch Mailangi, writer for Crazy Fun Park, then reflect on the ways that elements of a story are formed in the writers’ room to make meaning.  

Discuss 

As a class or in small groups, deconstruct the costumes worn by Rachael Maza, a Yidinji and Meriam woman who plays Aunty Winnie.  

Click through the slideshow and use investigating questions (what, where, when, who, why, how) to guide a discussion about the costumes and how these contributed to the representation of Aunty Winnie on screen. 

• What is the T-shirt communicating about Aunty Winnie's activism? 
• Where would Aunty Winne shop for clothes in 1984? 
• When did the style from 1984 go out of fashion? 
• Who are the designers/brand of the scarf? 
• How might the costume designer have consulted with Rachael Maza to make sure she was comfortable with the costumes?  

To view the slideshow in full screen, click to access the slideshow in a new tab: Aunty Winnie Costume Slideshow 

Create

Reference Enoch’s response to the final interview question and moments from Episode 7 ‘Friends with Feelings’ to support the following statement: 

Positive representations of First Nations peoples is important in the film and television industries.  

Document your ideas by quoting Enoch from the interview and pulling out examples from the episode.  

Extension 

Find more lessons via the Crazy Fun Park resource page.