{{Short description|Australian land acknowledgement ritual}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}} [[File:Wiradjuri Elder, Aunty Isobel Reid, giving the Welcome to Country at the Centenary of the Kangaroo March launch.jpg|thumb|right|Wiradjuri elder Isabel Reid giving the Welcome to Country]] A '''Welcome to Country''' is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of the particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander clan or language group who are recognised as the original human inhabitants of the area. Welcomes are performed by a member of the recognised group. They are sometimes accompanied by traditional smoking ceremonies, music or dance. An '''Acknowledgement of Country''' is a similar land acknowledgement ritual performed when a recognised owner is not available to perform the welcome, or the traditional owners are not known.
Prior to European settlement, when other Aboriginal people travelled onto another tribe's land, a ceremony was performed to show that the travellers were welcome. Modern Welcome to Country ceremonies first occurred in the 1970s, credited to either the 1973 Aquarius Festival with a Welcome performed by Uncle Lyle Roberts Jr. or a 1978 Welcome by Richard Walley to a group of Maori performers. In the 1980s Rhoda Roberts coined the term ''Welcome to Country''.
Since 2008, a Welcome to Country has been incorporated into the ceremonial opening of the Parliament of Australia, occurring after each federal election. [[File:Uncle Colin 170525.jpg|thumb|Uncle Colin Hunter performs a Welcome to Country before the round 10, 2025 AFL match between Collingwood and Adelaide Crows at the MCG]] == History == ===Aboriginal history and relationship with land=== In Aboriginal culture prior to European settlement, each clan's survival was dependent upon its understanding of food, water and other resources within its own country – a discrete area of land to which it had more or less exclusive claim.<ref>{{cite book|title=The original Australians: story of the Aboriginal people|url=https://archive.org/details/originalaustrali00floo|url-access=limited|author=Flood, Josephine|date=2006|publisher=Allen and Unwin|page=[https://archive.org/details/originalaustrali00floo/page/n208 194]|isbn=9781741148725}}</ref> When other Aboriginal people travelled onto another tribe's land, a ceremony was performed to determine whether the travellers were peaceful and then to show that the travellers were welcome. A smoking ceremony may have been used to transfer the scent of the home tribe onto the visitors in order to indicate to others the travellers had been welcomed and to avoid animals fleeing at a strange scent.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chrysanthos |first=Natassia |date=2025-02-15 |title=Feeling unwelcome: Why debate is mounting over an ancient ceremony |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/feeling-unwelcome-why-debate-is-mounting-over-an-ancient-ceremony-20250204-p5l9kn.html |access-date= |website=Brisbane Times |language=en-AU}}</ref>
The term ''Country'' has a particular meaning to many Aboriginal peoples, encompassing an interdependent relationship between an individual or a people and their ancestral or traditional lands and seas. The connection to land involves culture, spirituality, language, law/lore, kin relationships and identity. The Welcome to Country has been a long tradition among Aboriginal Australian groups to welcome peoples from other areas. Today it serves also as a symbol which signifies the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' presence in Australia before colonisation and an end to their past exclusion from Australian history and society, aiding to reconciliation with Australia's First Nations.
Connection to Country means more than just the land or waters in Aboriginal culture. There is no equivalent in the English language to describe that which permeates all aspects of existence: culture, spirituality, language, law, family and identity. Aboriginal people did not own land as property in the past, but their relationship to an area of land provides a deep sense of "identity, purpose and belonging" and is a relationship of reciprocity and respect.<ref name=austog>{{cite web | title=The importance of land | website=Australians Together | date=21 January 2020 | url=https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/indigenous-culture/the-importance-of-land/ | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=3 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803201328/https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/indigenous-culture/the-importance-of-land/ | url-status=live }}</ref> "Country includes all living things ... It embraces the seasons, stories and creation spirits."<ref>{{cite web | title=Our Country | website=Aboriginal Australian Art & Culture | url=https://www.aboriginalart.com.au/culture/tourism2.html | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=12 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812150439/https://www.aboriginalart.com.au/culture/tourism2.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The history of a people with an area ("country") can go back for thousands of years and the relationship with the land is nurtured and sustained by cultural knowledge and by the environment. Disconnection from the land can impact health and wellbeing.<ref name=common>{{cite web | title=Connection to Country | website=Common Ground | date=22 July 2020 | url=https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/connection-to-country | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=9 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190709/https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/connection-to-country | url-status=dead }}</ref> This connection is also reflected in such phrases as "caring for country" or "living on country" and related to the importance of land rights and native title.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/products/report_research_outputs/ganesharajah-2009-indigenous-health-wellbeing-importance-country.pdf|title=Indigenous Health and Wellbeing: The Importance of Country|first=Cynthia|last=Ganesharajah|series=Native Title Research Report Report No. 1/2009|date=April 2009|isbn=9780855756697|publisher=AIATSIS. Native Title Research Unit|access-date=1 August 2020|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819084204/https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/products/report_research_outputs/ganesharajah-2009-indigenous-health-wellbeing-importance-country.pdf|url-status=live}} [https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/indigenous-health-and-wellbeing-importance-country AIATSIS summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504162522/https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/indigenous-health-and-wellbeing-importance-country |date=4 May 2020 }}</ref> Indigenous groups have also had some of their legal rights that arise under their traditional laws and customs recognised in the form of native title, since the ''Mabo'' judgment and the passage of the ''Native Title Act 1993''. [[File:1st Brigade welcomes Marines to Australia 150422-M-BL930-533.jpg|thumb|Greeting the U.S. Marines of 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force at Darwin with a Welcome to Country at the brigade parade ground, 22 April 2015 at Robertson Barracks]] ===Evolution of the greetings=== Welcomes are a form of Aboriginal ceremony used to welcome other peoples from other areas<ref name=sadpc/> and as a cultural exchange. It is seen as a way of making newcomers feel comfortable and connected, and may be the basis for forging important future relationships.<ref name=bolger>{{cite web | last=Bolger | first=Rosemary | title=How Welcome to Country rituals are changing to make all Australians take note | website=SBS News | date=12 November 2020 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-welcome-to-country-rituals-are-changing-to-make-all-australians-take-note | access-date=13 December 2020 | archive-date=13 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213104546/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-welcome-to-country-rituals-are-changing-to-make-all-australians-take-note | url-status=live }}</ref>
The 1973 Aquarius Festival held in Nimbin, New South Wales, by the Australian Union of Students (AUS) has been documented as Australia's first publicly observed Welcome to Country, although it was not called this at the time. Organisers of the alternative lifestyle festival, considered Australia's "Woodstock", were challenged by Indigenous activist Gary Foley to seek permission from traditional owners to hold the festival on their land. The ceremony was conducted by Uncle Lyle Roberts and song man Uncle Dickee Donnelly.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scantlebury|first=Alethea|date=2014-10-13|title=Black Fellas and Rainbow Fellas: Convergence of Cultures at the Aquarius Arts and Lifestyle Festival, Nimbin, 1973|url=http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/923|journal=M/C Journal|volume=17|issue=6|doi=10.5204/mcj.923|access-date=3 June 2020|doi-access=free|archive-date=20 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420045658/http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/923|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilmore |first=Heath |date=2023-05-12 |title=How a 50-year-old hippie festival sparked the Welcome to Country phenomenon |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/how-a-50-year-old-hippy-festival-sparked-the-welcome-to-country-phenomenon-20230508-p5d6q4.html |access-date= |website=Brisbane Times |language=en}}</ref>
The second recorded Welcome to Country occurred in 1976, when entertainers Richard Walley and Ernie Dingo developed a ceremony to welcome a group of Māori artists who were participating in the Perth International Arts Festival. The welcome, extended on behalf of the Noongar people, was intended to mirror the visitors' own traditions, while incorporating elements of Aboriginal culture.<ref>{{cite news|title=Perth International Arts Festival gives welcome to west country|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/stage/perth-international-arts-festival-gives-welcome-to-west-country/news-story/18eda9115f366089fb6cc86e366ef36c|work=The Australian|access-date=2 August 2018|author=Westwood, Matthew|date=15 February 2016|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406230857/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/stage/perth-international-arts-festival-gives-welcome-to-west-country/news-story/18eda9115f366089fb6cc86e366ef36c|url-status=live}}</ref> Walley recalled that Māori performers were uncomfortable performing their cultural act without having been acknowledged or welcomed by the people of the land.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Penberthy |first=Natsumi |date=3 March 2016 |title=40 years of the 'modern' Welcome to Country |url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2016/03/richard-walleys-welcome-to-country |access-date=2 August 2018 |magazine=Australian Geographic}}</ref> {{Blockquote |text=I asked the good spirits of my ancestors and the good spirits of the ancestors of the land to watch over us and keep our guests safe while they're in our Country. And then I talked to the spirits of their ancestors, saying that we're looking after them here and we will send them back to their Country. |author=Richard Walley }} Arts administrator Rhoda Roberts, and daughter of Uncle Frank Roberts from the 1973 Aquarius Festival, coined the term ''Welcome to Country'' in the 1980s and helped develop both welcomes and acknowledgements to country by beginning each show she was involved with a Welcome.<ref name=lacksheart>{{cite web|title=Welcome to country ceremony 'lacks heart'|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/welcome-to-country-ceremony-lacks-heart-20121014-27kv2.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=16 March 2013|last=Taylor|first=Andrew|date=15 October 2012|archive-date=18 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218074758/http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/welcome-to-country-ceremony-lacks-heart-20121014-27kv2.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[File:Talisman Sabre 21 Welcome to Country (6738423).jpg|thumb|Bindal Elder, Uncle Alfred Smallwood, performs the smoking ceremony at a Welcome to Country during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021 at Lavarack Barracks, Townsville, Queensland, 19 July 2021]] Acknowledgements of Country are a more recent development, associated with the Keating government of the 1990s, the reconciliation movement and the creation of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) with Yawuru man Pat Dodson as chair. After the ''Mabo'' case, in which the historical fiction of Australia being ''terra nullius'' was overturned and native title was recognised in Australia. According to Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung man Tiriki Onus, head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne, it was after ''Mabo'' that Acknowledgement of Country grew among "grassroots communities concerned with issues of reconciliation".<ref name="watson202" /> Wiradjuri woman Linda Burney, a member of CAR in those days, has said that there was no formal strategy to bring the Acknowledgement of Country into Australian life, but it just grew organically and became accepted as part of many types of gatherings. It was seen as a good way to engage people with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture and that the wider Australian community feels that its important to have a good relationship with Australia's Indigenous peoples.<ref name=watson202>{{cite web | last=Watson | first=Joey | title=How the Acknowledgment of Country became a core national custom – and why it matters | website=ABC News | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=18 March 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-18/history-indigenous-acknowledgment-of-country-national-custom/12029886 | access-date=4 January 2021 | archive-date=3 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103120001/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-18/history-indigenous-acknowledgment-of-country-national-custom/12029886 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Welcomes and acknowledgements have since been incorporated into openings of meetings and other events across Australia, by all levels of government, universities, community groups, arts and other organisations.<ref name=sadpc>{{cite web | title=Welcome to Country | website=Attorney-General's Department | publisher=Government of South Australia | date=28 March 2019 | url=https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/aboriginal-affairs-and-reconciliation/statement-of-acknowledgement-welcome-to-country | access-date=19 April 2023 | archive-date=19 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419024618/https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/aboriginal-affairs-and-reconciliation/statement-of-acknowledgement-welcome-to-country | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=vicgovwel>{{cite web | title=Welcome to Country | website=Aboriginal Victoria | publisher=Victoria Government | date=27 October 2019 | url=http://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/welcome-country | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=14 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314150123/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/welcome-country | url-status=live }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190421/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=16 October 2020 }} licence. (Shown [https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125045958/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright |date=25 January 2021 }}.)</ref><ref name=adelcouncil>{{cite web | title=Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country | website=City of Adelaide | date=29 April 2020 | url=https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country/ | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=1 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801040702/https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=sydcity>{{cite web | title=Welcome to Country | website=City of Sydney | url=https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/about-council/welcome-to-country | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=5 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805084641/https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/about-council/welcome-to-country | url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2008, a Welcome to Country was performed at the ceremonial opening of the Parliament of Australia and the following day Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples.<ref name="bolger" /> Since then it has been incorporated into the opening of parliament which occurs after each federal election. The welcome includes a speech as well as traditional music and dance. Given that parliament sits in Canberra, traditionally part of Ngambri and Ngunnawal country, a Ngambri/Ngunnawal elder officiates.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 February 2008 |title=A historic first: traditional Indigenous welcome begins Parliament |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/02/12/2160380.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821071241/http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/02/12/2160380.htm |archive-date=21 August 2018 |access-date=2 August 2018 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=25 April 2022 |title=The Opening of Parliament |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/News/The_Opening_of_Parliament |access-date= |website=Parliament of Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>
==Significance== Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were largely excluded from Australian history books and from the democratic process in Australia for the first two centuries of white settlement, since the colonisation of Australia from 1788. Including recognition of Indigenous peoples in events, meetings and national symbols is seen as one part of repairing the damage caused by exclusion from settler society. Incorporating Welcome or Acknowledgement protocols into official meetings and events "recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of land" and shows respect for traditional owners.<ref name=recsa>{{cite web | title=Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country | website=Reconciliation SA | url=https://reconciliationsa.org.au/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country/ | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=22 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822212458/https://reconciliationsa.org.au/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Description== [[File:Welcome to Country And Smoking Ceremony (51063378077).jpg|thumb|Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony led by Wurundjeri elder Uncle Bill Nicholson Jnr in Melbourne]] Both Welcomes and Acknowledgements recognise the continuing connection of Aboriginal traditional owners to their country, and offer appropriate respect as part of the process of reconciliation and healing.<ref name=vicgovboth>{{cite web | title=Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners | website=Aboriginal Victoria | date=10 October 2019 | url=http://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/welcome-country-and-acknowledgement-traditional-owners | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=1 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101024640/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/welcome-country-and-acknowledgement-traditional-owners | url-status=live }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190421/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=16 October 2020 }} licence. (Shown [https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125045958/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright |date=25 January 2021 }}.)</ref> As they have become more commonplace and people have become used to hearing them, efforts are being made by many to keep the words alive and make them meaningful to become core Australian customs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Watson |first=Joey |date=18 March 2020 |title=How the Acknowledgment of Country became a core national custom — and why it matters |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-18/history-indigenous-acknowledgment-of-country-national-custom/12029886 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408234114/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-18/history-indigenous-acknowledgment-of-country-national-custom/12029886 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |access-date=25 June 2023 |website=ABC News Australia}}</ref> They may be used to inform and educate as well as being entertaining at the same time.<ref name=bolger/> [[File:U S Indo-Pacific Commander Travels to Australia (8383569).jpg|thumb| Welcome to Country for US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, with Gen. Angus Campbell and Adm. John C. Aquilino on the right]] ===Welcome to Country=== The Victorian Government advised that Welcomes are advised for major public events, forums and functions in locations where traditional owners have been formally recognised. A Welcome to Country can only be undertaken by an elder, formally recognised traditional owner<ref name=vicgovwel/> or custodian to welcome visitors to their traditional country.<ref name=sadpc/> The format varies; it may include a welcome speech, a traditional dance, and/or smoking ceremony.
Sydney's fireworks show has incorporated a Welcome to Country since the 2015–16 event to acknowledge the territory of Port Jackson as territory of the Cadigal, Gamaragal, and Wangal bands of the Eora people. This ceremony takes the form of a display that contains imagery, music, and pyrotechnic effects inspired by Aboriginal culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Happy New Year! First Nations honoured with Welcome to Country |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/12/31/happy-new-year-first-nations-honoured-welcome-country |access-date=2019-12-30 |website=NITV |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Dumas |first=Daisy |date=2015-12-31 |title=Sydney New Year's Eve 2015: Welcome to Country ceremony to be seen around the world |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-new-years-eve-2015-welcome-to-country-ceremony-to-be-seen-around-the-world-20151231-glxe01.html |access-date=2019-12-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2016-01-01 |title=Partygoers praised after peaceful NYE celebrations |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-01/new-year-day-australians-gather-to-ring-in-2016/7062754 |access-date=2019-12-30 |website=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> Since New Year's Eve 2022, the concept has been expanded to encompass the entirety of the 9 p.m. "Family Fireworks" show, whose soundtrack is curated by an Aboriginal artist or musicians.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Gorrey |first=Megan |date=2021-12-09 |title=Harbour city to shine beneath New Year's Eve fireworks |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/harbour-city-to-shine-beneath-new-year-s-eve-fireworks-20211209-p59g6s.html |access-date=2021-12-10 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-12-30 |title=Here is where you attend New Year's Eve celebrations in Australia's capital cities |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-30/new-years-eve-fireworks-australia/101796104 |access-date=2023-09-14 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-30 |title=The stage is set for the best New Year's Eve ever |url=https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/the-stage-is-set-for-the-best-new-years-eve-ever |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=City of Sydney |language=en}}</ref>
===Acknowledgement of Country=== {{see also|Land acknowledgement}} If a local elder is not available, or if the traditional owners have not been formally recognised for the area, an Acknowledgement of Country,<ref name=sadpc/> also known as Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners, performed by the host of the event, is appropriate. If there is no formal recognition of traditional ownership, it is advised to limit recognition to an Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners generally, without making a reference to the name of any specific traditional owners.<ref name=vicgovwel/>
The Victorian Government's wording for recognised traditional owners:<ref name=vicgovack>{{cite web | title=Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners | website=Aboriginal Victoria | date=10 October 2019 | url=https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/acknowledgement-traditional-owners | access-date=1 August 2020 | archive-date=12 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012317/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/acknowledgement-traditional-owners | url-status=live }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190421/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=16 October 2020 }} licence. (Shown [https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125045958/https://www.aboriginalvictoria.vic.gov.au/copyright |date=25 January 2021 }}.)</ref>{{cquote|Our meeting/conference/workshop is being held on the lands of the [Traditional Owner's name] people and I wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. I would also like to pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and Aboriginal Elders of other communities who may be here today. }}
And for unknown traditional owners:<ref name=vicgovack/>{{cquote|I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land [or country] on which we are meeting. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Elders from other communities who may be here today. }}
The City of Adelaide's wording is (specifically tailored for the local Kaurna people):<ref name=adelcouncil/>{{cquote|City of Adelaide acknowledges that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains and pays respect to Elders past and present. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today. And we also extend that respect to other Aboriginal Language Groups and other First Nations. }}
The words "always was, always will be Aboriginal land" are sometimes included in Acknowledgement of Country, as acknowledgement that the land of Australia was never ceded.<ref>{{cite web | title=Acknowledgement of Country | website=Australian Centre for International Justice | date=24 January 2023 | url=https://acij.org.au/about-us/acknowledgement-of-country/ | access-date=11 February 2023 | archive-date=11 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211070847/https://acij.org.au/about-us/acknowledgement-of-country/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Acknowledgement of Country | website=Common Ground | date=22 December 2022 | url=https://www.commonground.org.au/articles/acknowledgement-of-country | access-date=11 February 2023 | archive-date=11 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211072116/https://www.commonground.org.au/articles/acknowledgement-of-country | url-status=live }}</ref>
====Other countries==== Similar acknowledgements, e.g. land acknowledgements, have become common at public events in Canada and have begun to be adopted by Native American groups in the United States.<ref name="Shazad">{{cite news|last1=Shazad|first1=Ramna|title=What is the significance of acknowledging the Indigenous land we stand on?|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/territorial-acknowledgements-indigenous-1.4175136|access-date=14 January 2018|work=CBC News|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=15 July 2017|archive-date=17 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117031623/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/territorial-acknowledgements-indigenous-1.4175136|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Marche_NYer">{{cite magazine|last1=Marche|first1=Stephen|title=Canada's Impossible Acknowledgement|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/canadas-impossible-acknowledgment|access-date=14 January 2018|magazine=The New Yorker|date=7 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Evans|first1=Hannah Graf|title=We Begin with Acknowledgement|url=https://www.fcnl.org/updates/we-begin-with-acknowledgement-197|access-date=14 January 2018|publisher=Friends Committee on National Legislation|date=15 October 2015|archive-date=15 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184627/https://www.fcnl.org/updates/we-begin-with-acknowledgement-197|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Criticism == The Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country have become culture wars issues and attracted criticism from conservative figures, some of whom suggest that such ceremonies are a form of tokenism and do not reflect traditional Aboriginal culture. Critics have included historian Keith Windschuttle<ref name="foisted">{{cite news |last=Windschuttle |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Windschuttle |date=1 December 2012 |title=Welcomes to country are being foisted on us in error |newspaper=The Australian |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/welcomes-to-country-are-being-foisted-on-us-in-error/news-story/82b9749840792d606ba703a4115c9772 |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref> and politicians Tony Abbott;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/welcome-to-country-ceremony-lacks-heart-20121014-27kv2.html|title=Welcome to country ceremony 'lacks heart'|last=Taylor|first=Andrew|date=2012-10-14|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2019-12-31|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231010512/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/welcome-to-country-ceremony-lacks-heart-20121014-27kv2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Peter Dutton;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/peter-dutton-reveals-his-stance-on-welcome-to-country-after-tony-abbott-said-he-was-getting-a-little-bit-sick-of-the-ceremonies/news-story/7aa06d87e8e2b01dde18240dffb534be|title=Peter Dutton reveals his stance on Welcome to Country after Tony Abbott said he was 'getting a little bit sick' of the ceremonies|last=Hevesi|first=Bryant|date=11 August 2023|newspaper=Sky News Australia|access-date=2024-08-25}}</ref> Jacinta Price;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-29 |title=Why senator sympathises with Pauline |url=https://thewest.com.au/business/jacinta-price-says-she-understands-why-pauline-hanson-walked-out-during-acknowledgment-of-country-c-7683638 |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=The West Australian |language=en |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829152330/https://thewest.com.au/business/jacinta-price-says-she-understands-why-pauline-hanson-walked-out-during-acknowledgment-of-country-c-7683638 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Pauline Hanson.<ref>{{cite web | title='Ignorant and racist': Pauline Hanson slammed for walking out on Acknowledgement of Country | website=NITV | date=27 July 2022 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/ignorant-and-racist-pauline-hanson-slammed-for-walking-out-on-acknowledgement-of-country/9zd96glci | access-date=25 June 2023 | archive-date=25 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625060253/https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/ignorant-and-racist-pauline-hanson-slammed-for-walking-out-on-acknowledgement-of-country/9zd96glci | url-status=live }}</ref> Since the defeat of the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, conservative politicians and commentators have used the Welcome to Country rituals as a focal point to oppose or scale down Indigenous Reconciliation arguing the use is divisive and a waste of taxpayers' money.<ref>{{cite web | title=Feeling unwelcome: Why debate is mounting over an ancient ceremony | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=15 February 2025| first=Natassia |last= Chrysanthos| url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/feeling-unwelcome-why-debate-is-mounting-over-an-ancient-ceremony-20250204-p5l9kn.html | access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref>
Some in Aboriginal communities have also expressed issues with the rituals arguing that the repetition has caused it to lose meaning.<ref name="bolger" /> Rhonda Roberts, who coined the phrase Welcome to Country, said about the Welcome, "is it something you just say because you're PC?" and that the ceremonies "don't have heart".<ref name="lacksheart" /><ref name="watson202" />
In 2023, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia ruled that Acknowledgements of Country were inappropriate at church services because their wording "almost invariably carries overtones of an Indigenous spirituality inconsistent with Christian belief" and that "final ownership of land" is vested in the Creator.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Noack |first1=Georgina |title=Presbyterian Church of Australia rules Indigenous Acknowledgement of Country 'not appropriate' for service |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/presbyterian-church-of-australia-rules-indigenous-acknowledgement-of-country-not-appropriate-for-service/news-story/6d80e4cc84e4591b914bb9e39cbe1948 |access-date=21 September 2023 |work=news.com.au |date=16 September 2023}}</ref> However other churches, such as the Uniting Church, practise an Acknowledgement to Country, "seek[ing] to be a healing community, characterised by the love of Christ".<ref>{{cite web | title=Acknowledgement of Country in the UCA – Uniting Church Australia | website=Uniting Church Australia | url=https://uniting.church/acknowledgement-of-country-in-the-uca/ | access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref>
==In popular culture == The Australian band Midnight Oil released a single in August 2020 entitled "Gadigal Land", whose lyrics include a play on the traditional Welcome to Country as a critical review of Aboriginal history. Starting with the line "Welcome to Gadigal land", it goes on to mention other things brought by foreign settlers, like poison, grog, and smallpox.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hocking | first=Rachael | title=The story behind the Gadigal poetry on Midnight Oil's latest track | website=NITV | date=7 August 2020 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/08/07/story-behind-gadigal-poetry-midnight-oils-latest-track | access-date=10 October 2020 | archive-date=19 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019220921/https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/08/07/story-behind-gadigal-poetry-midnight-oils-latest-track | url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
Category:Indigenous Australian politics Category:Indigenous Australian culture Category:Ceremonies in Australia