The Magpies will be wearing a jumper designed for Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round by Yorta Yorta artist Ross Morgan Sr and his sons Ross Jr and Wayne, taking inspiration from the Cummeragunja walk-off.
Morgan Sr was asked to design a jumper through Collingwood's connection with Dardi Munwurro, a behavioural change program with an office in Shepparton where he is co-ordinator of Ngarra Jarranounith Place.
When asked to design a guernsey, Morgan said there was only one story he felt compelled to tell to represent his people — that of the 1939 protest, where Cummeragunja Mission residents walked off the site to surrounding towns to take a stand against disheartening government treatment.
It is believed to be the first mass strike of Australia's indigenous people, and Morgan said it was a huge point of pride for the Yorta Yorta people.
“As soon as they asked me to do a design, I immediately thought of the most important story of our community, that being the Cummeragunja walk-off, and the strength shown by our ancestors,” he said.
“That was the story that came straight to my head, so we put that into the design.
“We wanted to share the story with the community, and as part of the design we want to acknowledge the immense effect Australian rules football has had for all our people.
“But it needs to be told and to be accepted as part of the journey of our region, people from Echuca, Mooroopna, Shepparton and around the place. There's a really strong identity with our culture here.”
The design includes the long-necked turtle, the totem of the Yorta Yorta people, with the back of the turtles representing the 16 family groups of their nation.
The diamonds down the front of the guernsey represent the strength and resilience shown by the ancestors, the top-right symbol represents the meeting place where they met before the walk-off, while the bottom-right signifies Daish's Paddock, a meeting point after the walk-off.
The round, of course, carries the name of Yorta Yorta legend Sir Doug Nicholls, who was born at Cummeragunja.
Coincidentally, Collingwood will face North Melbourne while wearing its indigenous-inspired guernsey, with Yorta Yorta man Jy Simpkin in the line-up for the Kangaroos.
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