Sahara helping bring greater understanding of Indigenous cultures

By ANDY WILSON and BRODIE EVERIST NGARRINDJERI Country is quite a distance from the Alpine Shire, but a family from the South Australian Murray mouth region has called Myrtleford home for over a decade, with the youngest child being recognised as an unofficial Indigenous leader at Myrtleford P12 College. Sahara Giles recently won the Alpine Shire Proud and Deadly Youth Award, a new category of award which celebrates unofficial contributions to community and to leadership skills, in recognition of her commitment to encouraging a local engagement with indigenous culture. Over the last four years the year nine student has reached out to local indigenous students to organise activities that recognise First Nations heritage and encourages a deeper learning of culture. One challenge for Sahara has been her role as youth representative and advisor to the Alpine Health board to help develop the Alpine Health reconciliation action plan. In that role she helped create the 'Healing Hands' artwork used on the front cover and throughout Alpine Health's reconciliation action plan, along with around five other students. "I know most of the people on the board personally from the Myrtleford community," Sahara said. "Seeing them from a different perspective and more professionally can be very daunting." "But I do get heard." Unfortunately, this year's NAIDOC week at Myrtleford P–12 College was undone by school holidays and COVID–19 pressures, while the school was focused on a mental wellbeing week in a similar time period. Instead, with deputy principal Adam Lindsay and a grade five teacher at Myrtleford P–12 she is planning a cultural awareness day in term four, with a series of activities for the school's primary–level students. Sahara only embraced her local Indigenous community four years ago on learning more about her own Ngarrindjeri heritage. Ngarrindjeri means "belonging to men" and their people are the traditional custodians of the mouth of the Murray River and its surrounds. "Some things happened, my Dad passed away, so I got connected with his family more and learned more about my culture," she said. "And I definitely brought that back to school." Sahara is considering becoming a nurse when she is older, and hopes to work in Indigenous communities in Western Australia. In the meantime she will continue to encourage more young Indigenous people to embrace their culture.

Sahara helping bring greater understanding of Indigenous cultures

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