Welcome and acknowledging country
Local people may have a preference for how they are described, for example at a function or event. If you’re not sure of a person's particular language group and can't find out, it’s usually okay to simply acknowledge them as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The easiest way to find out is to ask the person themselves – they will see this as showing respect and they'll appreciate it.
Acknowledge Country
Connection with country is crucial to the well being of Indigenous peoples. For millennia, when Indigenous people visited the country of others, there would be rituals of ‘welcoming to country’. Today, these rituals have a legacy in ‘Welcomes to Country’ and ‘Acknowledgment of Country’.
Usually a ‘Welcome to Country’ will occur at the beginning of any major public meeting. It will be done by an appropriate Elder – someone widely recognised as having ancestral connection with the country you’re meeting in. She or he may welcome in their Indigenous language, or in English.
‘Acknowledging Country’ can be done at the beginning of any meeting. Some organisations, for example, begin staff meetings with an acknowledgement.
An ‘Acknowledgment’ might be, for example “I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land we’re meeting on today, and acknowledge my gratitude that we share this land today, my sorrow for some of the costs of that sharing, and my hope and belief that we can move to place of equity, justice and partnership together". You may wish to establish your own wording.
Click here to listen to the welcome to country given by Matilda House at the opening of the 42nd federal parliament on 12 February 2008:
Reconciliation Australia's Co-Chair Professor Mick Dodson described Indigenous people's relationship to land in a speech at the United Nations International Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Peoples and Protection of the Environment, Khabarovsk, Russian Federation, August 2007.
A copy of Professor Dodson’s speech is available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/workshop_IPPE_dodson.doc
Previous Next