The AFL will celebrate its annual Indigenous Round this weekend, however Power Community Ltd’s Aboriginal Engagement and Employment Manager Paul Vandenbergh believes continuous awareness about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is just as important.
“Part of my job is to educate the club about Aboriginal culture and who we are and where we come from,” Vandenbergh told portadelaidefc.com.au.
Part of the club’s ongoing education program sees Vandenbergh work to ensure Port Adelaide staff and players have knowledge about other significant cultural days throughout the year, such as National Sorry Day and NAIDOC Week and their importance to the Aboriginal community.
Vandenbergh supports the concept of an indigenous-themed round as it allows the wider community to embrace the Aboriginal community, its culture and share their history.
In previous years, staff and players have been in involved in a number of activities including learning about the different Aboriginal cultural groups – particularly in South Australia and the Northern Territory - and being taught how to throw a boomerang.
This week Vandenbergh educated club staff and players on the different skin groupings of Aboriginal culture and how family relationship work within individual communities.
“Family for us is our number one priority and it’s important for our footy club to become more and more involved in understanding that space and acknowledge how important family is to Aboriginal players and staff.”
By creating fun and interactive sessions, Vandenbergh hopes a deeper understanding and respect will emerge that will take the relationship the club has with Aboriginal culture to another level.
The 'fun' aspect included testing the staff and player groups on the correct marriage process for skin groups within Vandenbergh's own country.
Although the groups led by club legend Russell Ebert in the staff challenge, and captain Travis Boak in the player challenge were successful at completing the task, some were not so lucky.
The penalty involved Vandenbergh and Aboriginal youth leader Jack Buckskin teaching the group about the consequences for violating skin grouping 'lore'.
"Following our rules and laws is still important in Aboriginal culture right around Australia," said Vandenbergh.
"It's encouraged as a means of keeping our culture strong.
"But we keep our culture strong through other means, such as education and language programs within schools and communities.
"Jack (Buckskin) teaches the Kaurna language to students because lots of people know that if you lose your language, you lose your culture.
"These things are really important to us, and our induction here at the club help to educate non-Aboriginal people about it."
Vandenbergh hopes that AFL Indigenous Round will one day become as big and recognised as the ANZAC Day clash.
“We’d love for Indigenous Round to be as big as ANZAC Round, the more and more we keep educating and pushing, we will one day get it to that place where commentators are talking about it regularly,” he said.
Port Adelaide currently has three Aboriginal players on its list – Jake Neade, Chad Wingard and Brendon Ah Chee – and a proud history of Aboriginal player development in the SANFL and AFL since it entered the national competition in 1997.
The Aboriginal Power Cup is proudly supported by Santos, the Government of South Australia, Transfield Services, Beach Energy, Maxima and UniSA.
