NAIDOC Week is a time for all Australians to reflect, honour and celebrate the history, cultures, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme,The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy, invites educators to engage students in powerful conversations.
In a special episode of the Rainbow Skies for Teachers podcast, we invited five inspiring Aboriginal educators and allies to share what this year’s NAIDOC Week theme means to them—and how teachers can authentically bring it to life in their classrooms.
Strength: Celebrating Culture and Connection
Lesley Woodhouse, speaks passionately about the strength Aboriginal communities demonstrate every day. “We are the world’s oldest continuing culture, and our cultures are thriving,” she shared. Lesley encouraged teachers to explore how culture has evolved from pre-invasion times to now, prompting questions about resilience and what keeps culture strong.
She also reminded us to spotlight Aboriginal change makers, both those with national profiles and local community heroes, whose stories can inspire students and deepen understanding of strength as a cultural legacy.
Ally Erin from Miss Broughton echoed this with her approach to empowering students to share their cultural knowledge. Through her “fridge front” classroom wall, she creates a space where students can proudly display their work, language, and ideas, fostering both confidence and strength in cultural identity.
Legacy: Honouring the Past and Shaping the Future
For Brooke, a proud Palawa woman and founder of Lineh Learning, the theme of legacy is central to her practice. She defines legacy as “the stories, languages, land-based knowledges, and ways of being that our old people have passed down to us.”
Brooke uses First Nations literature as a powerful teaching tool. In one example, she explored Found by Bruce Pascoe with her students—a gentle way to introduce the concept of the Stolen Generations. Students responded by writing poems about their own experiences of feeling lost and safe, bridging empathy with historical understanding in an age-appropriate way.
Jordyn from The Yulang Effect, reminded us that legacy is also about what we give to the future. She encouraged educators to use past NAIDOC Week posters to explore key historical moments and movements, turning the classroom into a space where advocacy, resistance, and truth become tangible for young learners. Her message: ask students what they want to contribute and how they want to be remembered.
Vision: Creating Culturally Safe Classrooms
Aaron from Mr. J’s Learning Space, another teacher ally, shared his passion for embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives as part of everyday learning, not as an “add-on” for special occasions. For him, the word vision speaks to the opportunity educators have each day to model inclusive, respectful practices and reimagine what a classroom can look like when Aboriginal culture is normalised, not tokenised.
From reading books by Aboriginal authors to incorporating traditional games into brain breaks, Aaron highlighted that cultural inclusion should be organic and ongoing.
How Teachers Can Guide the Next Generation
In the final part of the episode, we asked our guests: How can we guide the next generation to embrace strength, vision, and legacy?
Their collective message was powerful:
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Tell the truth – educate students about Australia’s full history.
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Empower students – especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to lead, share their voices, and shape their classrooms.
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Include community – collaborate with local Elders and families to bring learning to life.
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Normalise culture – make Aboriginal perspectives a natural and integrated part of learning all year round.
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Create ripples – as Jordyn beautifully said, “Legacy is how that ripple continues through every child we teach, every classroom we shape and every heart we touch.”
Bringing NAIDOC Week Into Your Classroom
If you’re wondering where to begin this NAIDOC Week, here are a few teacher-friendly ideas:
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Explore past NAIDOC Week posters and themes.
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Create a “fridge front” display space for student-led cultural sharing.
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Read a First Nations-authored book and use it as a springboard for discussion.
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Invite a local Elder or community member to speak to your class.
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Use Wingaru Education resources to support culturally safe and informed lessons.
This episode was filled with heartfelt stories and actionable ideas. We’re so grateful to Lesley, Brooke, Erin, Aaron, and Jordyn for sharing their wisdom and passion.
About today’s guests:
Lesley
Wingaru means ‘to think’ in Darug, the language group of the family behind Wingaru Education.
Our mission is to change the way Australia thinks and talks about Aboriginal People and the issues impacting our communities through supporting a greater understanding and shared knowledge within the wider community.
Proudly Aboriginal-owned and operated on Gadigal Country, Wingaru Education specialises in the design, creation and implementation of digital education resources and software.
We believe education plays a vital role, not only in closing the gap in outcomes for Aboriginal people but also as the basis for true reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Check out Wingaru Education here.
Brooke
Brooke Cuthbertson is a proud Palawa woman, dedicated to transforming education through cultural inclusion. As a qualified teacher, she empowers educators to infuse Aboriginal perspectives across the curriculum, fostering representation and truth-telling in classrooms. Inspired by her own experiences of underrepresentation, Brooke champions culturally safe learning environments that reflect the strength and resilience of First Nations communities. Through her work, she helps educators become changemakers in reconciliation and cultural understanding.
Jordyn
Jordyn is a proud Wiradjuri, Ngemba and Paakantji woman, primary teacher, and founder of The Yulang Effect. With over a decade of experience leading Aboriginal Education, she’s passionate about empowering teachers to embed First Nations perspectives with confidence. Her popular Instagram account, Learning to Ngangaanha, sparked a community of over 11,000 educators. Through The Yulang Effect, she creates resources that help teachers become changemakers—creating ripples of impact in every classroom.
Erin
Erin Fortescue is a passionate Kindy teacher in her tenth year of teaching, working on Wardandi Boodja in South West WA. Known on Instagram as @miss_broughton, she shares practical, authentic ways to embed First Nations perspectives in early childhood education. Erin co-authored a popular blog with Rainbow Sky Creations, helping educators build more inclusive and respectful classrooms, read it here.
Aaron
Aaron is the creator behind Mr J’s Learning Space on instagram, Facebook and TikTok where he shares teaching ideas, free resources and inspiration for teachers. He has been teaching for 16 years across all grades K-6 and is currently working as an instructional leader in a K-6 school after 10 years in school leadership roles. Aaron is also one of the hosts of the Teacher Takeaway Podcast which provides practical insights and strategies for the classroom based on current educational research. Follow him @mr.j.learning.space
