Australian Indigenous and Aotearoa Māori All-Stars Teams Cultural Gift Exchange

The Australian Indigenous and the Aotearoa Māori All Stars teams conducted a cultural gift exchange prior to the official Touch Football NRL All-Stars post-match presentation.

The tradition of gift exchange has always been an important aspect of the Indigenous culture. The exchange helped provide a fitting ending to a dramatic day of Touch Football, which saw the Indigenous and Māori All Stars, unable to be separated. Shane Frederiksen and Bo de la Cruz medallist's Takoha Ropati and Rebecca Mi Mi received their honours as part of the post-match presentation.

The Aotearoa Māori gift presented to the Australian Indigenous side was a Hoe (pronounced ‘Hoi’ in Māori) which is significant to teamwork when paddling a Waka (a large multi person canoe), as the team is only as fast as its slowest paddler.

The Australian Indigenous gift presented to the Aotearoa Māori side was a piece of artwork created by Mandi Barton. The artwork which is inspired by the Australian Indigenous All Stars is explained: “The design is ‘the ground’. The background is the grassroots, the blades of grass that is the ‘Touch Ground’. It is the fields all over this land, Touch Football played in different countries. The design illustrates the score lines, the halfway line with vertical travelling lines. The circles are the teams with six people on the field representing different communities. The Emu tracks represent the National team and the totem of certain tribes and peoples, they are part of our Dreaming stories and cultural practices. The ‘Indigenous All Stars’ are represented by stars in the background, they are also the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people playing ‘Touch’ across the country. They are all looking after their health and fitness, building up community, social and cultural connections, feeling they belong as part of a team, reaching goals and striving to do the best they can.”

Mandi who is a Yorta Yorta, Barapa Barapa, Wemba Wemba woman, a mother of three daughters, an Aboriginal community member, a social Touch Football player, a creative who still resides in the Western Suburbs of (Naarm) Melbourne, Victoria on Boon Wurrung country. Mandi’s art and design aspires to strengthen identity and cultural knowledge, opportunities for storytelling, connecting communities, illustrating concepts and relationships.

More of Mandi’s work can be found on her Instagram account mandibarton_art .