Supporting Indigenous business and culture this holiday season

What better time of the year to support Indigenous businesses than to incorporate culture into your family’s festivities.

Events

With summer well and truly here, many of us are heading out to enjoy events being held around Australia.

Throughout the festive season and beyond, there will be many events where you can support Indigenous communities, businesses, artists and performers.

If you are hosting the party or event, consider using Indigenous catering businesses, event spaces and suppliers to help you plan your event and support Indigenous businesses.

Remember to take a look and join in the events happening in your community in a COVIDSafe way.

Food

For many, this time of year equals great food.

With bush tucker becoming increasingly popular, why not make the most of it and include Indigenous ingredients in your meals this year.

Why not make a Bush fruit Christmas cake or substitute some of the flavours in your cooking?

There also lots of drinks you can enjoy from water infusions and chilled teas with native fruits and herbs right through to packaged drinks from Indigenous suppliers such as Sobah.

Connect with Family and Kin

Christmas can be a lonely time of year for some and bring up strong feelings.

Connect with your community this festive season. The greatest gift anyone can give at this year is picking up the phone, checking in or having a yarn with those you love or are in your community.

If you are worried about your mental health, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia has a list of phone numbers you can call for support.

Gifting

It’s the season for giving.

We’ve profiled businesses this year such as Gather Foods or Brandy Rose who may be able to help you with your festive gifting needs. You can also browse the Kinaway and Supply Nation directories to find the perfect gift for your loved ones while also support Indigenous businesses around Australia.

With many people turning to experiences as gifts, there are lots of ways to gift an experience no matter what the budget.

You can take a look at your local Indigenous businesses or tour operators sharing knowledge of land, sea and sky Country. There are also lots of inexpensive gifts you can give this year including visit to national parks and museums as well as upcoming concerts or festivals featuring Indigenous businesses or artists.

Looking for a gift with impact? There are loads of Indigenous charitable organisations accepting donations big and small year-round. Indigenous organisations doing amazing work all around Australia in areas such as health, education, women’s support and healing. Welcome to Country has a list of Aboriginal charitable organisations which is growing.

School Holidays

With the summer school holidays upon us, there are loads of ways you can incorporate Indigenous cultures and support Indigenous businesses and communities this year.

Here are some ideas of our ideas:

• Enjoy and catch up on Jarjums programs such as Little J and Big Cuz, Grace Beside Me or Thalu on NITV
• Find a book to read, written and published by Indigenous authors and illustrators through Magabala Books or Indigenous Literacy Foundation
• Listen to some music and podcasts from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creators on Indigitube.
• Connect with Country by gardening with native plants or visiting local or national parks
• Visit the NAIDOC website for resources including colouring in sheets of previous years’ posters
• Visit a museum in-person or online and learn more about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections

However you choose to celebrate the festive season, we wish you a safe and happy holidays.