Page 4 Aboriginal Cultural Competence welcome to country When the local Elder (Traditional Owner) welcomes those gathering on their Country. 1. All formal and significant events should have a Welcome from the local Elder. 2. Never ask them to do it for free. It is an important and significant event contribution. 3. It’s important and sacred: don’t trivialise it. It would be like doing so for the Last Post or the Lord’s Prayer. 4. The ONLY person who can give a Welcome is an Elder from the Country you are meeting on. Not your Aboriginal mate and certainly not a non-Aboriginal MC. Just because you saw someone do a great Welcome last week in Joondalup doesn’t mean they can do it in Mandurah or Rottnest … it needs to be the locally endorsed Elder. If you don’t know who the right person is check with the local Government or Aboriginal organisation. 5. Never try to tell the Elder how they should conduct the Welcome or what they should say or not say. This is highly inappropriate. If there is something you would especially like you can make a respectful request. 6. Treat the Elder like an honoured guest. For example, organise VIP parking, reserve a seat for them in the front row, have the CEO or Chairperson meet them at the door. 7. Make sure you know the correct Aboriginal Nation, personal Title and pronunciation of words and place names you will use. An Elder will often be referred to as Aunty or Uncle, but don’t assume this is the case. Check with the Elder if necessary. Eg: “Aunty Joan is a member of the Wadjak Noongar Nation and also has family connections in the Pilbara and Wheatbelt. She has worked in community services and social housing for 30 years and we are honoured to have her here today”. 8. The Welcome should be the very FIRST thing in the program, before everything else. The MC should say something like: “Before we begin, I would like to invite Uncle Albert from the local Noongar Whadjuk community to Welcome us to his Country”. Everything else (introductions, MC Welcome, sponsor names, OHS info … everything) should come afterwards. 9. You should THANK the Elder, but not critique the Welcome. eg: “Thanks so much Uncle Albert for that wonderful Welcome to your Country”. 10. Do not Acknowledge Country after a Welcome. We only do an Acknowledgement when no Welcome is available. However, if it was (for example) a two-day event, with a Welcome on Day 1 only, we might Acknowledge at the start of Day 2, perhaps respectfully referencing the Welcome on Day 1. eg: “And we again thank Uncle Albert for Welcoming us to his Country yesterday. Since he is not with us today, I would like to Acknowledge …”
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