NAIDOC Week – 50 Years of Deadly
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BY TAHANA TURNER*
NAIDOC Week 2026, celebrated from today through to next Sunday (5-12 July), is dedicated to recognising and honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.
For 50 years, NAIDOC Week has provided a space for truth-telling, celebrating culture, recognising resistance, and affirming the strength and dignity of First Nations peoples.
This year’s theme, ‘50 Years of Deadly’, marks an important milestone. ‘Deadly’ is a word that speaks to excellence, strength and pride.
Deadly can also mean having a strong sense of identity and culture while looking ahead to a hope-filled future.
This theme honours the generations who made NAIDOC possible:
• The Elders who stood firm
• The organisers who created space
• The artists who painted, sang and danced, turning the struggle of recognition into a beautiful expression of culture
• The communities that have continued to show up, year after year.
READ MORE: Go to The Salvation Army NAIDOC Week 2026 website here
NAIDOC has never been just a week. It has always been a platform. A strong walk of pride. A celebration. And a statement of survival.
It reminds us that progress has not come by chance, but because people refused to be silenced and chose courage, community and hope.
Today and tomorrow 50 Years of Deadly also recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today:
• Grounded in culture
• Strong in identity
• Leading change across every field, from health and education to media, business and the arts.
It is about telling our stories: in our own voices, in our own way, and on our own terms.
And it is about the future:
• The next 50 years
• Young people growing up proud
• Languages remaining and returning
• A deeper reconnection to Country
• And the ongoing work for justice, dignity, and healing – carried forward with new tools, new voices and the same fire.
Hope lives in the actions we take today for future generations.
In Isaiah chapter 43, verse 19, the Bible says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
God is doing a new thing! A fresh, current and future-focused move of God is happening now amongst our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Join with us
50 Years of Deadly is not merely a marker of time passed. It is a reminder of momentum – of what is possible when cultures lead and community comes first.
NAIDOC belongs to mob. It always has. The theme asks us to look back over 50 years – to acknowledge the stories, conversations, and meaningful connections we have encountered alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We would like to take this time to acknowledge and honour our non-Indigenous brothers, sisters and churches who have walked beside us and celebrated being deadly with us over these 50 years.
Your conversations with us, your listening ears, and the way you have joined with us in ceremony have been deadly.
So, thank you. As representatives of The Salvation Army, and of our mobs and communities, we offer this encouragement – to keep listening deeply, to walk with greater respect, and to honour what has come before us by continuing the work of the Lord side by side.
Let’s be ALL IN and DEADLY for the next 50 years.
*Tahana Turner is the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator for The Salvation Army.
NAIDOC Week resources can be found on MySalvos here
