NAIDOC Week - The Lawyers of the Uluru Statement

The theme for NAIDOC Week 2023 is 'For Our Elders'. "Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families".

The Lawyers of the Uluru Statement exhibition in Law Library

On 26 May 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was delivered to the Australian people by more than 1000 delegates of the First Nations Constitutional Convention. The Statement was the culmination of an extraordinary process of self-determination through the Regional Dialogues.

Professor Megan Davis, Balnaves Chair for Constitutional Law and Director of the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW’s Faculty of Law & Justice, and United Nations expert with the UN Human Rights Council's Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous peoples, provided the expert foundations on which the Statement rests. Throughout this work, she has been supported by a team of committed legal experts from the Indigenous Law Centre. 

The Lawyers of the Uluru Statement exhibition celebrates the work of the delegates at the Regional Dialogues and Convention in 2016-2017, highlighting the complex exercise of legal reform that they were engaged in, and the support provided to them by Professor Davis and the academics at the Indigenous Law Centre.

UNSW Library resources

UNSW Indigenous Strategy reading list

This reading list brings together the books and videos recommended in the UNSW Indigenous Strategy. It is a great place to start if you would like to learn more about Australia's Indigenous history and future. The Library has collected the books, films and related documents in an online collection called UNSW Indigenous Strategy - Recommended books & videos which you can access by signing in with your zID.

Continuing culture: Contemporary Expressions Exhibition in Main Library

An exhibition featuring artworks from the UNSW Art Collection by Indigenous artists is on display throughout the study spaces of Main Library Level 4. This exhibition celebrates the First Peoples of Australia's enduring heritage and supports the UNSW Indigenous Strategy to celebrate and increase the presence of Indigenous culture on campus.

Australian Indigenous language collection

The UNSW Library collection includes many works written in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. You can explore our Australian Indigenous language collection (requires login) online or search for specific language in the Library collection - try Tiwi, Kamilaroi or Warlpiri to start. These resources are tagged with special language identifiers that are based on the AIATSIS AUSTLANG vocabulary. Learning more about the first languages spoken on this land is a powerful way to acknowledge, respect and build on cultural knowledge.

Top image:
Piti gifted by Pitjantjatjara Elder Sammy Wilson, traditional owner of Uluru on behalf the Mutitjulu Community, to the Referendum Council Senior Leadership Pat Anderson AO, Noel Pearson, Professor Megan Davis and Mark Leibler.