First Nations

Who designed these? Was it a First Nations artist/person?

The Australian map is royalty free, the aboriginal flag is also royalty free. The map has no reference to First Nations artist because it is a map and not an artwork.

Were First Nations people included in the design processes?

Yes, consultation took place. This map is the geography of Australia, it is not an Aboriginal artwork. For the naming of each nation, Lowes references David Horton’s verified map located in the encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Lowes curated the map based on specific location where the majority of our indigenous students reside.

Did we seek community consultation on the use of the flag and language?

Yes! At a local level and at an educational level. We have sought consultation with all our Aboriginal education officers that are connected to our school wear supply chain. AEO's are employed in schools where significant numbers of Aboriginal students are enrolled. We only liaise within our school networks.

What are we doing with the profits from these sales?

This is a not-for-profit exercise, Lowes is covering the costs as part of our education commitment to our schools. The program was designed to support our school wear sector, it is an educational tool promoting inclusion unity and awareness through apparel.

Are we giving back to the Indigenous community?

Lowes collaborates with indigenous artists across all our traditional First Nations apparel, we have an aboriginal employment policy, and Lowes is an equal opportunity employer.

Where is Yolngu Land?

Unfortunately, we’d love to feature every area, however we don’t have any schools in Yolngu Land, this garment is aligned with the indigenous students that reside in our school wear network. Its sole use is for education, because we believe education creates change.

In what ways does it support the school wear sector and how do Indigenous kids benefit from such?

This is not exclusively for Indigenous kids but the entire broader community for NAIDOC week. This garment is meant to incite discussion questions around exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. This tool is a tactile response to learning the meaning of local or national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island place names and words as per the suggested NAIDOC syllabus requirements.