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A Welcome to Country (or Acknowledgement of Country) is a ritual or formal ceremony performed at many events held in Australia, intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to a particular Aboriginal clan or language group who are recognised as traditional owners of the land. [15]
A land acknowledgement (or territorial acknowledgement) is a formal statement that acknowledges the Indigenous peoples of the land. It may be in written form, or be spoken at the beginning of public events. The custom of land acknowledgement is present in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and more recently in the United States. [1]
European Australian journalist Jeff McMullen cites Gurindji stockman and land rights activist Vincent Lingiari as an example of a custodian of knowledge: "As a senior lawman, Vincent Lingiari was drawing on his grandfatherʼs knowledge and connection to Gurindji country, reclaiming and asserting the core responsibility of custodianship.
The Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country have become core Australian customs. [31] Some jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, make a welcome (or, failing that, acknowledgement) mandatory [dubious – discuss] at all government-run events. [32] The Victorian Government supports Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country. [33]
Today, Indigenous sovereignty generally relates to "inherent rights deriving from spiritual and historical connections to land". [1] Indigenous studies academic Aileen Moreton-Robinson has written that the first owners of the land were ancestral beings of Aboriginal peoples, and "since spiritual belief is completely integrated into human daily activity, the powers that guide and direct the ...
acknowledgement of the significance of Aboriginal peoples moving back to traditional country; a clear distinction between homelands and settlements, missions or reserves; an acknowledgement of the traditional connection to the land and the ancestral spirits; and; a description of the permanency of homelands as traditional home territory.
The Coalition of Peaks is an unincorporated body that represents more than 80 Indigenous community groups and peak organisations across Australia. [3] Under a partnership agreement with the Council of Australian Governments (now National Cabinet), Australian governments have promised to consult with the Coalition of Peaks in the creation, implementation and reform of Closing the Gap policies. [4]
The establishment of the council was an acknowledgement of past policies which had done harm to Aboriginal peoples, [7] and its purpose was to guide the process of reconciliation in the nation over the coming decade, which would end with the celebration of centenary since the Federation of Australia. [10]