The four-year-old proudly declaring her identity at daycare

The pre-schooler, who loves to attend Invasion Day marches every year, reads books by Aboriginal authors and curiously asks her mum about topics like colonisation.

A drawing of the Aboriginal flag

Audrey with her mum Amanda. Source: NITV/Supplied

At just four-years-old Audrey Worrigal is already teaching her classmates about Aboriginal history and culture. 

Audrey, who is a Gooniyandi, Kija, Baard and Wardandi, is always proud to share the Aboriginal flag with others. 

On Wednesday her mother, Amanda Sibosado, took a photo of a drawing Audrey did while at daycare in Perth and shared it on Twitter — in less than 24 hours it had over 6,000 likes and hundreds of retweets.

That's because when Audrey was given a union jack colouring-in template, she decided to draw over it and outline the Aboriginal flag.
Ms Sibosado, a Baard and Wardandi woman, said Audrey asked her teachers if they had an Aboriginal flag outline that she could colour in.

When they didn't, she went on drawing "her flag".

"I had asked her [about it] a couple of days earlier because she's been coming home from school and from daycare with lots of flags, like she does the rainbow with the Aboriginal flag, Aboriginal flags are in all of her drawings at the moment," Ms Sibosado said.

"Even when the drawings have nothing to do with her identity or anything. It might be her friends playing and then there's a flag in the middle of them."

Inspired by books and marches

When asked what might have inspired Audrey, Ms Sibosado said she and her daughter read a lot of books by Aboriginal authors together.    

"We've got a huge collection of books at home by Aboriginal authors with Aboriginal artwork in them," she said.

"One of the ones that she particularly loves is the Adam Goodes Somebody's Land book.
"So she knows what terra nullius is, and she often asks questions around, you know, why those people came here and did that."

Ms Sibosado said having resources like Adam Goodes' book is so valuable for our young ones.

"I'm very grateful that we're living in a day and age where I have access to lots of resources to teach her about these things, in age-appropriate ways."
A young girl smiling
Audrey loves to learn about Indigenous history. Source: Supplied
"I grew up not having any access to that. [Like] having white teachers doing mandatory dot painting worksheets at school.

"And me being one of the only Blak kids at school at the time.

"Yeah, I'm so grateful I'm raising her in a different world where she has access to all of that and can be really strong and firm in her identity."

Audrey also loves to attend the Invasion Day marches every year with her family. 

"We go to the marches for Invasion Day and we couldn't go this year, and she was like, devastated about it.

"[Asking] when are we going to go marching? When are we going again?

"And now she's literally flying the Aboriginal flag everywhere."

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3 min read
Published 16 June 2022 4:18pm
Updated 16 June 2022 4:21pm
By Alexis Moran
Source: NITV


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