On Saturday, July 13, players from the Perth Football League will be wearing the Red Arm Band to raise awareness of and remove racial vilification in football.
Lynwood Ferndale will be playing with Osborne Park at Ferndale Park and the team will be proudly wearing new custom made jerseys in support of the Red Arm Band.
The City of Canning provided the funds for the jerseys through their grant scheme.
Local Indigenous community member Belinda Pickett designed the special Indigenous jerseys and was inspired by the Canning River.
The river symbolises the importance it has as a natural resource for both the Aboriginal community and the non-Indigenous community.
The club has always had a strong and proud indigenous representation and Indigenous player Tynam McNamara is looking forward to playing on the weekend.
“Being able to wear the jumper means a lot to me, it makes me proud to be able to wear a jumper that represents my culture and my people,” he said.
“There is such a powerful and passionate story behind the jumper.”
In the past local Noongar people used the river for food such as black bream, freshwater mussels, possum, plants and meeting places.
The three circles on the back of the jerseys represent the tree ovals in Lynwood Ferndale Football sport’s oval and the Indigenous game of ‘Marngrook’ that is now called Australian Rules Football.
This game has brought many Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people together and its an opportunity to meet and share stories while the players show off their athletic skills and prowess.
The Whadjuk warriors (Yagan, Mundy, Yellagonga, Weeip, Midgegooroo (Yagan’s father) are all represented through the warrior seen in the jumper.
The warrior on the front of the jersey and the boomerangs on the back is representative of the past Noongar people who walked, hunted, celebrated, and cared for the area as well as the strong spirit of the football players.
The Red Arm Band is used to symbolise Earth-Blood-Life.
‘We come from different places, but we are all the same.’
