Guest speakers, including Aboriginal elder Zona Moore, Moree Reconciliation Week committee member Sharon Tighe, Aboriginal artist and TAFE student David ‘Crocket’ Craigie and Moree East Public School teacher Barb Cutmore talked about what Reconciliation Week means to them.

“Reconciliation to me means education,” Mr Craigie, whose Aboriginal artwork, ‘My Country’, was reproduced as flags hung throughout the main street to celebrate the week, said.

“They have to know about us, we have to be educated about them. The only way we can be reconciled is education.

“If we get educated, our people will go far.”

Ms Cutmore grew up in a large family on the mission in Moree and went to the mission school before attending Moree High in its first year of integrating Aboriginal students.

“Like many Aboriginal families, our family has issues,” she said.

“Like many from the stolen generation, we’ve had deaths in custody, spent time in prison, have been homeless and experienced segregation and racism.

“While we can’t forget what happened, we have moved on and have had many success stories in our family.”

Ms Cutmore said this year’s Reconciliation Week theme, ‘Let’s take the next steps’, challenges us to action and encourages us to continue to walk together towards reconciliation.

“Reconciliation means to me, knowing our history, our country’s history, and acknowledging the bad as well as the good,” she said.

“Acknowledging that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the first people of this nation and embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, as well as the culture of other Aboriginals.

“Let’s take the next step to ensure reconciliation continues in our hearts and our minds and that the action we do today and in the future creates a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Aboriginal people.”

Following the speeches everyone enjoyed a barbecue lunch together.

This is the first year TAFE has hosted a Reconciliation Week event, however it certainly won’t be the last.

“We wanted to engage with the elders of the community and get key speakers in to talk about reconciliation and what it means to them, as well as how the Moree community has been positively impacted by reconciliation week,” Moree TAFE’s Jody Ritchie said.

Moree TAFE joined other TAFE campuses across the New England and North West in celebrating National Reconciliation Week, as part of their commitment to improving educational and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people.

“As an organisation, TAFE NSW continues to take giant strides both internally and externally in terms of reconciliation,” TAFE NSW director of Aboriginal education and equity provision Rod Towney said.

“[Tuesday] is an opportunity to get Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff together to acknowledge the signifcant work that has already been done, but more importantly to focus on what needs to improve for reconciliation moving forward.”