Dana Whiston is a proud Gooreng Gooreng woman, she is the First Nations Community Development Worker at the Caloundra Community Centre. Her Acknowledgement of Country and words about NAIDOC resonated deeply, we’re honoured to share them with you here.
Wunya (Welcome)! Wunya Nulum (Welcome everyone)!
Today we are meeting on Kabi Kabi Country, a place of great beauty and deep cultural meaning.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Sunshine Coast: the Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi peoples of the coastal plains and the Jinibara peoples of the hinterlands. We pay our respects to the old people, who have walked before us, and to the Elders present and emerging. This land is rich with their stories, songlines and Dreaming, spanning tens of thousands of years, and we recognise their continuing role in caring for Country.
We are so lucky to live here — in a place that is rich in culture, alive with story, and surrounded by natural beauty.
To the east, long stretches of coastline meet the ocean, where saltwater stories connect us to sea Country and carry the songs of our ancestors across the waves.
To the west, the Glass House Mountains rise — ancient, powerful, and sacred. These peaks are more than features on a map. They are a family of ancestors: Tibrogargan the father, Beerwah the mother, and their children. Their stories of strength, care, and responsibility are etched into the peaks and continue to guide us today.
This place we call home is nourished by freshwater rivers, flowing creeks, and hidden waterholes — places that have long offered life, rest, and spiritual connection.
Around us, the land is rich with paperbark trees, banksias, and towering gum forests, home to kookaburras laughing in the treetops and kangaroos moving gently through the bush.
This is a land shaped not just by nature, but by the sacred Dreaming stories woven through mountains, oceans, rivers, and sky. Every rock, every ripple, every tree holds meaning.
It is a privilege to raise our children here, to gather here, and to walk this land together.
Again, I want to acknowledge today the Traditional Custodians of this beautiful land, and pay our respects to Elders who are with us here today physically and those in spirit.
I also want to acknowledge all mobs, all language groups here today, and those who now call the Sunshine Coast home.
This is a place where many of us have come to live, raise our children, share culture, and build community. And in that diversity, there is deep strength — a strength that reflects who we are becoming, together.
Today, we gather to celebrate NAIDOC 2025.
So what is NAIDOC?
The NAIDOC movement began as a campaign for justice and recognition, led by courageous Aboriginal people who called on churches, government, and the wider community to acknowledge who we are — our truth.
It started with the Day of Mourning in 1938, and through decades of activism, in 1991, NAIDOC Week as we know it began — a whole week to honour our cultures, our people, and our survival.
This year, we celebrate a milestone: 50 years of NAIDOC!!! (CHEER!)
Fifty years of truth-telling, of cultural pride, of resilience, of celebration. That legacy is strong — and today, we carry it forward.
NAIDOC is a time dedicated to honouring and recognising the profound contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the rich tapestry of this nation.
Being included — and belonging — feels good.
Around Australia today, from small grassroots gatherings like this one to large-scale events, people are coming together with speeches, performances, and community to reinforce a shared commitment to inclusion and to honouring First Nations people.
Soon, we’ll be joined by Traditional Custodians who will offer us an official Welcome to Country and a cultural dance ceremony. This moment will ground us, connect us, and remind us of the strength of the old ways — the ways that continue to hold us today.
But firstly, this year’s theme — The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy —
calls us to reflect not only on what has been, but on what we’re building together.
Our next generation — our children, our jarjums — are already stepping into their roles.
They are our cultural warriors. They are the dancers, they are our artists, they are our storytellers, they are our spirit weavers, they are our truth speakers, they are our leaders of tomorrow — and of today.
And this theme isn’t just about First Nations children — though they are at its heart. It’s about all children — Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and non-Indigenous — because every child holds the potential to be part of the healing, the learning, and the celebration of culture.
It’s all of them, together, who will shape what this nation looks like in generations to come. It will be their strength, their vision, and their courage that carry our stories forward.
It is in their hands that the legacy we leave today will either grow or be forgotten — and we are here to make sure it grows.
Just look around today — we are already seeing that future in action.
We have Unity College First Nations students here today, all participating, some even stepping up, running their own activities. We’ve got young people from our local high schools running workshops, serving food — helping, guiding, and welcoming you in to our centre today.
Throughout the space today, you’ll see activities that reflect this legacy — children creating boomerang art, sharing culture through string storytelling, playing clapsticks, exploring identity through symbols, and connecting on the yarning mat.
Outside, you will see games and play creating moments of joy and community.
All of this is culture. All of this is connection. All of this is the next generation — already leading through participation and pride.
So today, let’s celebrate our First Nations people!
And for the next generation —
Let’s invest in them.
Let’s support them.
Let’s remind them of who they are and where they come from.
Let’s tell them they are enough, they are strong, they are capable.
Let’s give them stories to carry —
but also let them create new ones.
Let’s pass on the fight for justice —
but also the joy of culture, the beauty of language, and the warmth of community.
Because the future is not coming —
It’s already here.
It’s in the hands holding boomerangs today.
It’s in the voices running workshops.
It’s in the spark in a child’s eyes when they proudly show you their Aboriginal flag tattoos!!!
To all the young people here today:
We see you.
We believe in you.
And we walk with you.
Let this be our promise to you —
to keep walking together,
strong in culture, proud in identity,
and always guided by the legacy of those who came before us.
Thank you.
Wunya (Welcome) Wunya Nulum (Welcome everyone)