In Term 2 of 2018, Woolgoolga Area of Schools took part in Connecting to Country. Over three days the participants took part in some very confronting and informative sessions, ranging from personal accounts about the Stolen Generations to language sessions.
We were lucky enough to have several Elders attend our Connecting to Country every day, to share their own stories and experiences. On day three we had our On Country day at Yarrawarra, the Old Camp at Corindi and Red Rock. To begin our day, the participants took part in a traditional fire-starting workshop to start a fire for our traditional smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country, delivered to us by Uncle Bing (Cecil) Laurie. We then heard some traditional Dreaming stories and the participants did a traditional dance and song workshop, which they all performed before morning tea.
After morning tea, we walked along the bush tucker track to the Old Camp, where Uncle Bing shared many stories about his life growing up there. We had a delicious traditional-inspired lunch supplied by the Yarrawarra Café. Following lunch, we travelled to Red Rock to learn more about the more violent past of the area; the participants found this very confronting but appreciated that the past should be known and taught.
