By Laura Pearce
Our project enabled us to make a real and meaningful connection with a local First Nations educator. The learning undertaken in one workshop was enormous for both educators and children.
Robina Scott Kindergarten is a parent managed sessional kindergarten in the heart of Williamstown, known as Melbourne’s first seaport. Being part of the local community for the past 87 years, we cherish our heritage and local connections, and wanted to ensure we extended our historical understanding beyond the European settlement that dominants our local landscape. As a team we made the commitment to complete and publish our Reconciliation Action Plan which included considering and embedding Indigenous perspectives into our learning programs and practices. As part of that process we were keen on engaging a local Boonwurrung person to conduct a Welcome to Country for each of our kinder groups and our search brought us to Jaeden Williams, a proud Yalukit Willam man of the Boonwurrung and founder and director of Biik Bundjil, a Boonwurrung educational organisation.
We were thrilled to win a 100 years of excellence grant to fund our project, and thanks to this we were able to engage Jaeden to visit each of our seven 3- and 4-year-old kindergarten groups, greeting the “bubups” (children) and performing a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony. Jaeden educated our learners on the importance of following the laws of Bundjil, the creator who travels as an eagle: to look after the land, the water and the children.
The children were invited to connect with the smoke, place it near their heart, close their eyes, place the smoke near their stomach and make a wish. Jaeden showed us his boomerang that he had made and taught us heads, shoulders, knees and toes using traditional Boonwurrung language…. learning the word for bottom “moon” being the children’s favourite word of the day! Jaeden showed us his traditional possum skin cloak that is first given to children as babies and is added to as they grow. Jaeden invited each child to put on his cloak and become a warrior, prince or whatever they wanted to be. Lastly Jaeden gifted each child a eucalyptus leaf, which he described as a passport to connect our spirits to Country. His visit strengthened our respect and Indigenous understanding through a real and meaningful connection, and we are so grateful to AGECS for the opportunity Jaeden gave our young learners.
The process was simple and straightforward, and we are so very grateful for the opportunity given to us through the grant. Our small, not for profit community kinder just does not have the money currently to afford incursions and your support is so very much appreciated!