Country is a mother to Earth. If you don’t Care for Country, Country won’t give you what you need to survive. Country is the ground, bush, waterways and the day/night sky. My artwork depicts Bundjalung Country because it is where I live and go to school. I used acrylic paints, paint textas, coloured pencils, bark and leaves to create my artwork. The trees are made from paperbark and gum leaves that I found on the ground. The bark in my artwork represents healing Country. Paperbark was traditionally used by Aboriginal people to heal their wounds. I want everyone in Australia to Care for Country so that it will be there for future generations. In the sky, there are symbols of stars and rain from the Papunya Community on Luritja Country and kangaroo tracks on the ground moving to the left of the artwork. The words I wrote I from the definition of the word Country in the book ‘Nganga’ by Aunty Fay Muir. It stood out to me and feels special.

Reconciliation means …Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people coming together as a team. We all live in Australia now and we all need to heal our past. Then we can all work together to Care for Country.

Artist: Rhianna Harlow – Year 6