Following on from this year’s NAIDOC week, which saw events inspired by the theme of “Because of her we can,” the celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures is set to continue with three more national and international events taking place over the next two months. This renewed wave of festivities kicks off with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day on August 4 before celebrations continue with the International Day of World Indigenous Peoples on August 10. The trio concludes with Indigenous Literacy Day on September 5.

Indigenous Literacy Day brings an important issue into national focus—not only is the day an opportunity to celebrate Indigenous culture, stories and language, but a reminder of the continuing disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Literacy rates. Only 34% of Indigenous Year 5 students in very remote areas are at or above national minimum reading standards, compared to 95% for non-Indigenous students in major cities.

This disparity makes our celebration of Indigenous voices in literature all the more significant. We were delighted to hear that the 2018 Colin Roderick Memorial Lecture at James Cook University in Townsville—one of the three universities around Australia that Sūdō Journal likes to call home—will be delivered by Alexis Wright, the highly regarded and rightfully acclaimed author, educator, and activist. Wright is a member of the Waanyi nation of the southern highlands of the Gulf of Carpentaria and the only author to win both the Miles Franklin Award (in 2007 for Carpentaria) and Stella Prize (in 2018 for Tracker).

The lecture, hosted by The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies, will be held on August 7, from 6:30–8:15pm at James Cook University’s Townsville campus, in The Science Place.

If you would like to contribute to improving literacy in remote Indigenous communities, you can donate to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation here: https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/how-you-can-help

Image: “Mitchell River delta” (CC BY 2.0) by feral arts