Music with meaning for Treaty Day Out

BENDIGO will bounce to the beat of the country’s finest First Nation musicians this weekend when the Treaty Day Out descends on Dja Dja Wurrung land at the showgrounds, headlined by Briggs and Dan Sultan.

Hosted by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the elected voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of the Victorian Treaty process, other acts on the all indigenous line up include No Fixed Address, Marlon x Rulla, Kee’ahn, Scott Darlow, Nooky, Bumpy and Madi Colville-Walker.

The Assembly’s Amy Rust said the festival on Saturday, 1 October is an opportunity for Victorians to share in First Nations culture during the Treaty journey.

“The work we’re doing is monumental, but this is an opportunity to come together, reflect on how far we’ve come and to have fun with mob,” she said.

“Our culture, our music, is deadly and we want to share that and to celebrate it all.”

The festival is also an opportunity to get First Nations people more involved in the Treaty process, those that have enrolled with the Assembly are given free entry and voting rights for the election of members to the body.

Any traditional owner of Country in Victoria who is 16 years and older is eligible to enrol, as is any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander from interstate that’s lived in Victoria for three of the past five years.

The general public has also been offered an additional festival sweetener with producers last week announcing a two-for-one ticket purchase offer following the impromptu public holiday announced for the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

“There’s been a lot of sorry business in our community recently and the unexpected announcement of Thursday’s public holiday was tough news for some of our mob,” Assembly co-chair Aunty Geraldine Atkinson said.

“We’ve been calling for a public holiday to celebrate our culture for a long time and to see one granted so quickly for a faraway monarch was hurtful for some people.”

“We wanted to give something back and we hope getting more allies down to Dja Dja Wurrung Country for Treaty Day Out will create that space to celebrate us, our culture, our community and how far we’ve come on the Treaty journey.”

Almost 3000 people attended the last Treaty Day Out when it was held in Shepparton in February this year and featured one of the last public performances by Archie Roach before his death in July.

For more information and tickets to Treaty Day Out visit treatydayout.com.