The next generation: strength, vision & legacy

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 5, 1 August 2025, page no 23.

The 2025 National NAIDOC theme — The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy — prompted me to reflect deeply on the past 50 years of NAIDOC events.

At Gurrumbilbarra’s Deadly Day Out, I was asked: “What does NAIDOC mean to you?”

That question took me back — not just to 1975, when NAIDOC Week officially began — but to 1788, when the long road to recognition and justice truly started. NAIDOC, as we know it today, was born out of protest. Protest for rights. Protest for recognition. Protest for respect. Protest for equity. And that journey continues to resonate for First Nations peoples across the Countries we collectively call Australia.

Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always embodied strength — in our everyday lives, in our cultural practices, and in our resistance. We navigate hegemonic systems built on colonial power structures, systems that often clash with our traditional ways of knowing and being. Yet, we persist. We adapt. We honour our ancestors while forging paths for the generations rising behind us.

Through that strength, we’ve shaped a vision for the future. A future grounded in self-determination, where we are recognised as the First Peoples of these vast and varied lands. A future where we have the autonomy and authority to make decisions about our lives — our homes, our health, our education, our work. A future where our rights are respected equally under the law, and where justice is not conditional on race.

This vision is not new. It echoes the calls of our early activists — those who boycotted 26 January in the 1920s, and those who stood firm in 1938 during the Day of Mourning, one of the first major civil rights gatherings in this country’s history.

Like many observances in Australia, including Australia Day, NAIDOC’s date has shifted over time. From 26 January protests, to the Sunday before Australia Day in 1940, to Aborigines (sic) Day in 1955, and finally to the weeklong celebration we know today, established in 1974. This evolution reflects our resilience and determination to ensure our cultures are seen, our voices heard, and our stories celebrated.

The week of NAIDOC is more than a celebration — it’s a legacy. A legacy of activism, of cultural pride, and of the ongoing fight for equity.

As a proud and staunch unionist, advocate, and activist, I draw strength from how far we’ve come. Despite the adversity we continue to face, I believe in our ability to navigate and transform the systems designed to exclude us. I believe in a future where pay gaps based on race or gender are closed. Where racism and discrimination are called out for the harm they cause. Where truth-telling leads to healing.

This is the legacy I hope my generation leaves behind — a future built on strength-based discourse, not deficit narratives. A future where our children and grandchildren walk in the light of justice, pride, and possibility.

Micheal Beale
First Nations Officer

The 2025 National NAIDOC Week poster Ancestral Lines by Jeremy Morgan Worrall