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Aboriginal culture celebrated with Emu Dreaming tram
Friday, 31 May 2019
Over the next two months, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) is operating an Adelaide Metro tram decorated with contemporary Aboriginal art, to mark and support National Reconciliation and NAIDOC weeks.
The Kardi Munaintya (Emu Dreaming) tram started running this week and will remain operational until Saturday, 20 July 2019, to coincide with both National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) and NAIDOC Week (7 July – 14 July).
The Kardi Munaintya tram wrap was initiated in 2010 as a living work of art, after being designed by DPTI employee, Kaurna/Ngarrindjeri landscape architect and visual artist Paul Herzich, and facilitated by DPTI.
The design recognises and celebrates the diversity of Aboriginal cultures in South Australia by acknowledging the main Aboriginal nations that are located either fully or partly within the state.
In the design, each tram stop is illustrated as a circular meeting place symbol and Kardi (emu) footprints are shown moving across the Kaurna/Adelaide landscape. The kardi is a significant totem of the Kaurna people.
“It is really great to see the Kardi Munaintya Tram come out each year to mark and support National Reconciliation Week and continue to grace itself through the streets of Adelaide up to and beyond NAIDOC Week – I am so grateful it continues to be funded each year,” Mr Herzich said.
“The Kardi Munaintya Tram is an important artwork because it acknowledges and raises awareness of all the main Aboriginal groups of South Australia. I love seeing photos of people standing there pointing to their group name. The group names offer a sense of belonging, a sense of identity and a sense of safety for Aboriginal people.”
National Reconciliation Week is a time to learn about and celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This year’s theme for National Reconciliation Week is “Grounded in Truth - Walk Together with Courage”.
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and society, with the theme this year being: “VOICE. TREATY. TRUTH.”
For further information about National Reconciliation Week, visit www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/ and go to http://www.naidoc.org.au/ for more on NAIDOC Week.