Take a moment this NAIDOC Week to understand the value of Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners, and the difference between the two.
Conducting a Welcome to Country or an Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners demonstrates respect for the Traditional Owners of the land on which an event is taking place.
A Welcome to Country is a ceremony performed by Traditional Owners to formally welcome people to their land. These ceremonies are often performed at important public events, where the event organisers will invite an Elder representing the Traditional Owner group to perform the ceremony to open their event.
An Acknowledgement of Country can be performed by any person, and is often done by the first speaker at a gathering as part of the opening of the meeting or event. An Acknowledgement of Country involves paying respects to Traditional Owners of the land and Elders. This can occur with or without a Welcome to Country.
All Golden Plains Shire Council meetings and events begin with an Acknowledgement of Country, and Council is planning to incorporate a Welcome to Country at the beginning of future significant civic events. As part of its commitment to reconciliation, Golden Plains Shire Council has recently begun developing an internal Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) using the nationally recognised framework established by Reconciliation Australia.
To find out more about these recognition and acknowledgement protocols, click here. For more information on NAIDOC Week 202, which runs until Sunday 15 November, click here.