First Nations-led illustration agency Solid Lines has developed a method to bring the Aboriginal flag into Apple's emoji system via its AI Genmoji feature.
This follows years of the Aboriginal flag being excluded, despite 268 national flags already available.
Users with iOS 18.2 can now create the flag emoji by typing specific prompts.
After opening the keyboard, users can select the Emoji icon and enter the description: "a black and red rectangle with a medium-sized yellow circle in the middle".
Luritja and Kokatha man and Solid Lines co-founder Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan highlighted the importance of this inclusion for validating Aboriginal peoples culture in digital spaces.
"The meaning of the Aboriginal flag is an expression of who we are and how we are connected to Country and it's an important milestone to be able to create this for the community," he told the National Indigenous Times.
What does the flag represent?
The Aboriginal flag was first designed in 1971 by artist Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from Central Australia.
The black half of the flag represents Aboriginal people, our land, and connection to Country.
The yellow circle symbolises the sun, a powerful force that nourishes and sustains us.
The red half represents the earth, as well as the spiritual and cultural connection that we have with our land.
Over the years, the Aboriginal flag has become an emblem of pride and empowerment for our communities, a way to communicate our identity.
For many, the flag becoming an emoji is seen as a small but powerful tool for educating others.
With the Aboriginal flag now a part of the emoji collection, it’s expected to be embraced globally and bring greater awareness to our culture and peoples.
