The NAIDOC Awards are annual Australian awards conferred on
Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander individuals during the national celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples known as
NAIDOC Week. (The name is derived from National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.)[1]
The committee
The awards are named after the committee that was originally responsible for organising the national activities to mark NAIDOC Week, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.[1] Each year, a different city hosts the National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony. The host city, National NAIDOC Poster Competition and the NAIDOC Awards recipients are selected by the National NAIDOC Committee.[2] The awards are presented at the annual NAIDOC Awards Ceremony and Ball.[1]
Categories
The names of the categories have varied over time. In 1985 Awards for Aboriginal of the Year, and for Aboriginal young people aged 12 to 25 were introduced.[3]
The first NAIDOC poster was created in 1972 to promote "Aborigines Day", which had been established as part of a campaign for better rights for Aboriginal people. The posters continued to reflect the spirit of protest until 1977, with titles like "Self Determination" and "Chains or Chance". The 1978 poster was different, reflecting the move from a single day of demonstration to a celebration lasting a week each July, after the new committee was established. The 1988 poster, "Recognise and Share the Survival of the Oldest Culture in the World" reflected the name change to NAIDOC, which formally included Torres Strait Islander people in the event. In the 1990s a competition to design the poster was introduced.[5]
Innovation Award – The Koori Mail team and volunteers, for their "coordination and leadership" of relief efforts after the record-breaking
March 2022 floods in
Lismore[16]
2021 winners
The 2021 National NAIDOC Awards ceremony in Alice Springs (
Mparntwe) was cancelled. An alternative NAIDOC Awards event was planned for 3 July 2021 at the
Sydney Opera House, but was postponed.[17][18] As Sydney went into a COVID-19
lockdown on 23 June, rules for travellers returning to the
Northern Territory meant that most people could not attend the Sydney event without a 14-day quarantine.[19][20] The award-winners were announced on 1 December 2021.[21] The winners are:[22]
Sportsperson of the Year – Clarence "CJ" McCarthy-Grogan
Winners 2011–2020
2020 winners
Due to the impact and uncertainty of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the National NAIDOC Committee cancelled the 2020 National NAIDOC Awards.[23] The National Indigenous Australians Agency announced the 2020 awards would be presented in July 2021 with the 2021 awards.[24]
2019 winners
Sportsperson of the Year - Shantelle Thompson[25][26]
^
abc"NAIDOC Awards". NAIDOC. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"NAIDOC Posters 1972–1989". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
^"National Awards Ceremony". NAIDOC. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Binge, Eleanor; NAIDOC Week (1997), Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, NAIDOC Week 6–13 July 1997 [picture] / Eleanor Binge, National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee
The NAIDOC Awards are annual Australian awards conferred on
Australian Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander individuals during the national celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples known as
NAIDOC Week. (The name is derived from National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.)[1]
The committee
The awards are named after the committee that was originally responsible for organising the national activities to mark NAIDOC Week, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.[1] Each year, a different city hosts the National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony. The host city, National NAIDOC Poster Competition and the NAIDOC Awards recipients are selected by the National NAIDOC Committee.[2] The awards are presented at the annual NAIDOC Awards Ceremony and Ball.[1]
Categories
The names of the categories have varied over time. In 1985 Awards for Aboriginal of the Year, and for Aboriginal young people aged 12 to 25 were introduced.[3]
The first NAIDOC poster was created in 1972 to promote "Aborigines Day", which had been established as part of a campaign for better rights for Aboriginal people. The posters continued to reflect the spirit of protest until 1977, with titles like "Self Determination" and "Chains or Chance". The 1978 poster was different, reflecting the move from a single day of demonstration to a celebration lasting a week each July, after the new committee was established. The 1988 poster, "Recognise and Share the Survival of the Oldest Culture in the World" reflected the name change to NAIDOC, which formally included Torres Strait Islander people in the event. In the 1990s a competition to design the poster was introduced.[5]
Innovation Award – The Koori Mail team and volunteers, for their "coordination and leadership" of relief efforts after the record-breaking
March 2022 floods in
Lismore[16]
2021 winners
The 2021 National NAIDOC Awards ceremony in Alice Springs (
Mparntwe) was cancelled. An alternative NAIDOC Awards event was planned for 3 July 2021 at the
Sydney Opera House, but was postponed.[17][18] As Sydney went into a COVID-19
lockdown on 23 June, rules for travellers returning to the
Northern Territory meant that most people could not attend the Sydney event without a 14-day quarantine.[19][20] The award-winners were announced on 1 December 2021.[21] The winners are:[22]
Sportsperson of the Year – Clarence "CJ" McCarthy-Grogan
Winners 2011–2020
2020 winners
Due to the impact and uncertainty of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the National NAIDOC Committee cancelled the 2020 National NAIDOC Awards.[23] The National Indigenous Australians Agency announced the 2020 awards would be presented in July 2021 with the 2021 awards.[24]
2019 winners
Sportsperson of the Year - Shantelle Thompson[25][26]
^
abc"NAIDOC Awards". NAIDOC. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"NAIDOC Posters 1972–1989". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Archived from
the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
^"National Awards Ceremony". NAIDOC. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Binge, Eleanor; NAIDOC Week (1997), Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, NAIDOC Week 6–13 July 1997 [picture] / Eleanor Binge, National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee