Mia King shares her powerful story with Sherrin for AFLW Indigenous Round.
Culture, connection and celebration is what AFLW Indigenous Round means to North Melbourne youngster Mia King. The proud Jawoyn woman sat down with Sherrin to share a powerful talk about her Indigenous heritage and family’s history. She also had an exclusive look at the first ever AFLW Indigenous Round Game Ball designed by Gabriel Stengle, proud Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Nurrunga woman, who comes from Kaurna Country.
“My grandmother’s part of the Jawoyn mob in Mataranka and Bitter Springs. Like many other First Nations people’s stories, my family story involves a lot of pain and discomfort. My grandmother was part of the Stolen Generation and my dad was adopted,” King shared.
She says, “Indigenous round is really important to me. Not only is it celebrating the longest continuing culture in the world, but it’s also recognising the impact that First Nations people have had on this country.”
When seeing the AFLW Indigenous Sherrin for the first time and becoming aware of the name change to ‘Tidna Parntu’. (Meaning ‘football’ in Kaurna language), Mia reflected. “It's a beautiful design, Gab’s done such an awesome job. I think it’s so special that we’re got our own AFLW Indigenous footy this year. I think it’s really powerful, the story that she tells through the footy about AFLW and its continual growth and journey, and that’s really represented through the kangaroo tracks.”
To hear more about Mia’s story, click on the video below.
You can see ‘Tidna Parntu’ during the AFLW Indigenous rounds 7 and 8, which go from Friday October 13th until Sunday October 22nd. This year 15% of sales for the AFLW Indigenous Range will be donated to the GO Foundation, an organisation founded by AFL legends Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin. The GO Foundation offers scholarships to Indigenous students across the country. If you wish to purchase an AFLW Indigenous Round Game Ball or Soft Touch Sherrin, visit sherrin.com.au