NARRM welcomed the Brisbane Lions to its home ground on Sunday and celebrated the AFLW’s Indigenous Round.
Bunurong man Alvin Atkinson Rajkovic began proceedings with a Welcome to Country, inviting footy fans to the Aboriginal land on which the match was to be played.
Following the special pre-game moment from Atkinson Rajkovi, Narrm's captain Daisy Pearce was joined by Brisbane’s Courtney Hodder, a proud Indigenous woman, with the two taking part in an important cultural exchange.
The Demons gifted to the Lions an artwork designed by Emma Bamblett, a proud Indigenous woman of the Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji and Taungurung mobs. The artwork depicts the Connections to land and kinship through totems. The Emu, Black Swan and Turtle on the artwork are significant totems for the women representing the Brisbane Lions AFLW team.
The line work throughout the piece represents strength, the maroon curved symbols represent women and their role in the AFLW.
Narrm received craftwork from artist and activist Lala Gutchen. Gutchen is of the Meuram tribe from Erub (Darnley) Island, Torres Strait. She is a passionate language activist and spends her spare time painting and producing contemporary Torres Strait Islander craftwork. For the match, Gutchen designed and created traditional hand shakers known as ‘Gorr’ in Erubmer.
The AFLW Indigenous Rounds ran over a two-week period and acknowledged Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history, while creating important conversations among the AFLW and wider communities.
For the duration of AFLW Indigenous Round, the Demons will be rebranded as the Narrm Football Club. Narrm is the Aboriginal name for Melbourne which comes from the Woi Wurrung language, spoken by the traditional owners of the city and its surrounds.