Traditionally the evening is co-hosted at the Rumbalara Football Netball Club, the Kaiela Institute and the University of Melbourne on Yorta Yorta country in Shepparton. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year's event will be broadcast online in documentary style.
The annual oration celebrates indigenous cultural identity with the goal of creating a shared vision for the people of the greater Goulburn Valley region and promoting indigenous development.
Dr Peeler is Executive Director/Principal of Australia's only indigenous girls’ boarding school Worawa Aboriginal College, and has held senior positions in the community and public sectors. She is one of the original members of female singing group The Sapphires which toured Vietnam during the war at the height of the conflict.
Dr Peeler was awarded the Order of Australia for her work in the community in 2014. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary doctorate in social science by RMIT University.
Her oration, The River is Us - Carrying the Spirit and Strength of Dungala, will explore how indigenous knowledge and narrative have mainstream importance for survival, emotional health and the general wellbeing of all humanity.
The oration starts at 6 pm on Wednesday.
Following the oration, Victorian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gabrielle Williams will provide a reply and the evening’s proceedings will conclude with a panel discussion with Dr Peeler, Professor Deborah Cheetham and Dr Lou Bennett.
The Dhungala Children’s Choir will also perform at the opening and conclusion of the event.
To register go to www.eventbrite.com.au/e/dungala-kaiela-oration-tickets-116970336425
