These shows and documentaries will help educate you on Indigenous history and culture as January 26th approaches

With the festive season well and truly behind us our focus may be stuck on returning to work, getting back into our routines and losing the Christmas kilos we gained that have left us feeling a little too festively plump.

Distracted by these things it’s easy to forget that Australia Day is very quickly approaching.

Marked on January 26th by many with barbecues, countdowns and other festivities, the day is not one celebrated by all – and for sound reason.

January 26 also marks the day of dispossession of Australia’s First Peoples in 1788 whereby the First Fleet of British ships landed on New South Wales shores and claimed them as their own.

More than 500 Indigenous groups and an estimated 750,000 people were then colonised through force and the displacing of people and communities.

What is Australia Day to some is Invasion Day to others – a painful reminder of what indigenous people had taken from them.

If you’re considering celebrating the day or want to better your understanding around the history and what it means to be Australian, you may want to check out SBS’s week long Always Was, Always Will be programming.

Running from January 17 to 16 both NITV and SBS will be airing a range of shows, the best of which we’ve rounded up below.

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky

In this compelling documentary, presenter, co-writer and slam poet Steven Oliver journeys across the country interrogating Captain Cook’s legacy bringing Australia’s blurred history into question.

Airs Sunday, 24 January at 7.30pm on NITV

Sunrise Ceremony Live

Hosted by NITV’s John Paul Janke and featuring Network 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs the two-hour special network event, broadcast live from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), audiences will be invited to enhance their understanding of Australia’s past, present and future as the dawn rises, while acknowledging and embracing a shared future.

Airs Tuesday, 26 January at 6.00am on NITV

The Whole Table

The three-part special will feature a round table discussion exploring Indigenous issues faced in the arts around the world and hears from Academy Award winner Taika Waititi, Miranda Tapsell and Nakkiah Lui.

Airs Wednesday, 20 January at 8.30pm on NITV

Homeland Story

This 90-minute film charts the Donydi community’s (a remote, traditional Indigenous Homeland in North-East Arnhem Land in the far North of Australia) transition from nomadic life to the digital age, from the 1960’s to the present day.

Airs 17 January at 8.35pm on NITV