Acclaimed Australian singer Archie Roach will headline NAIDOC celebrations at Southern Cross University in Lismore this week.
After performing at the Coffs Harbour campus on Wednesday, Roach will perform at the Lismore campus on Thursday from 12.15pm, and then at the Gold Coast campus on Friday at midday.
While in Lismore, Roach will also open a Bundjalung art exhibition and works by digital art and design students.
The SCU NAIDOC family days will feature music, bush tucker, face painting, arts and crafts and information stalls. The activities start at 10am and continue until 2pm.
SCU’s indigenous events coordinating committee president Vivienne Roberts said it was a great honour to have Archie Roach perform at all three campuses.
‘It will be a great day for both indigenous and non-indigenous people to celebrate NAIDOC,’ she said.
NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia each July to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to provide an opportunity to recognise the contributions that indigenous Australians make to our country and our society.
This year’s theme is ‘Serving Country: Centenary & Beyond’, in honour of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have fought in defence of country.
Roach’s career has spanned three decades, with his work recognised locally and internationally in mainstream and indigenous circles.
His latest album, Into The Bloodstream, released in 2012, came after the singer faced unimaginable challenges, including a stroke, lung cancer and the loss of his partner in life and music, Ruby Hunter.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
