Celebrating NAIDOC Week: 50 Years

A resource for our families and our childcare community

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This year marks fifty years of NAIDOC Week, a milestone worth celebrating loudly. Since 5 to 12 July, communities across the country come together to honour the oldest continuous living culture on earth, with the 2026 theme "50 Years of Deadly" recognising the Elders, artists, leaders and communities who have carried this movement forward for five decades.

It is a week full of colour, story, music and pride, and a genuinely joyful moment to bring into homes and childcare services alike.

What can fifty years of culture, resilience and community teach the people caring for our children today?

What NAIDOC Week celebrates

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. The week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and gives all of us a chance to learn, connect and take part.

This year's milestone theme looks back at fifty years of stories, marches, languages, art and leadership, and looks forward to everything still to come.

Ways to celebrate as a family

A few simple, joyful ideas, no expertise required, just curiosity and presence:

• Read a children's book by a First Nations author together as part of your bedtime routine
• Watch or listen to films, animations or music by First Nations creators
• Ask your child what they have been learning about NAIDOC Week at school, and let them teach you
• Find a local NAIDOC event, a community picnic, art workshop, performance or story time, and go along together

Small, everyday moments like these help children grow in confidence, belonging and respect, and create memories that carry forward long after the week ends.

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Ideas for our childcare services and educators

For our educators and carers looking to bring NAIDOC Week into the room with heart:

• Start the week with an Acknowledgement of Country, personalised to your local Country and community wherever possible
• Use the official NAIDOC Week 2026 Education Resources, "50 Years of Deadly," free and curriculum aligned for early learning through to Year 10
• Share art, music or story from First Nations creators as part of everyday learning, not just a single day's activity
• Invite children's questions and curiosity, and treat this as a chance to listen and learn alongside them

Books our little ones love

A handful of favourites by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and illustrators, well suited to early childhood and home reading:

Cooee Mittigar by Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson, a gentle welcome to Country in Dharug language and English.

Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy, a beautifully illustrated introduction to the meaning and practice of Welcome to Country.

Baby Business by Jasmine Seymour, a tender picture book following a traditional Dharug smoking ceremony for a new baby.

This is Me! by Sally Morgan and I Love Me by Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina, warm board books about self acceptance, perfect for babies and toddlers.

Respect, part of the Our Place series by Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson, a soft and heartfelt introduction to a core cultural principle.

Cunning Crow by Gregg Dreise, a playful, rhythmic story with a gentle lesson, much loved in early learning rooms.

Several of these titles come from Magabala Books, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned and led publishing house, where creators hold copyright in their own stories.

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Resources worth bookmarking

The official NAIDOC Week 2026 Education Resources, developed by Aunty Steph Armstrong OAM and Thara Brown at Culture is Life, guided by National NAIDOC Committee co-chair Aunty Professor Lynette Riley AO. Free and curriculum aligned for F to 10. Available at naidoc.org.au/resources/educational and cultureislife.org/education/resources/naidoc-2026.

SBS Learn's NAIDOC teaching resource, authored by Shelley Ware, a proud Yankunytjatjara, Kokatha and Wirangu woman. Curriculum aligned for 2026. Available at sbs.com.au/learn/naidoc.

Triple P's family friendly NAIDOC Week suggestions, developed with First Nations Implementation Consultants. Available at triplep.net, search NAIDOC Week.

SNAICC, National Voice for our Children, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. Available at snaicc.org.au.

For local events in your area, check naidoc.org.au for the full events calendar.

A note from SAFE

We are proud to celebrate fifty years of NAIDOC Week alongside our families and our childcare community. Our commitment to our proud first peoples continues, and we are grateful to walk alongside the community leading it.

Happy NAIDOC Week, from all of us at SAFE.

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