Why are Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners important?
Both a Welcome to Country (Welcome) and an Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners (Acknowledgement) recognise the ongoing connection Aboriginal Traditional Owners have to their Country.
Victoria has a strong and proud Aboriginal history. For thousands of years, Traditional Owners have used complex systems to own and manage the land.
The Victorian Government supports Welcomes and Acknowledgements to promote respect, reconciliation and healing.
What is the difference?
A Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners are different in a couple of ways.
Who performs them
- Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners: Anyone can give an Acknowledgement to show respect to the Traditional Owners of the land.
- Welcome to Country: Only an Aboriginal Traditional Owner of that specific Country can perform a Welcome.
What they mean
- Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners: You are paying respects to the Traditional Owners of the lands where your meeting or event is held.
- Welcome to Country: A Traditional Owner is welcoming you to their land and sharing their enduring connection to it.
When to organise a Welcome or Acknowledgement
You should only organise a specific Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners in areas where they have been formally recognised.
Doing this in areas without formal recognition is not recommended because it may:
- favour one group’s interest over another
- interfere with the formal recognition process
- lead to disagreements between different groups.
What is formal recognition?
The Victorian Government supports the formal recognition of Traditional Owners across Victoria. This process gives Traditional Owners clear rights and responsibilities as the First Peoples of that Country. It also helps the broader community know exactly who the Traditional Owners for an area are.
What if there is no formal recognition in my area?
The formal recognition process supports Traditional Owners’ right to reach their own agreements about extent of Country. This is right to decide is also understood as a form of self-determination.
If no Traditional Owners have been recognised in your area, you can still provide a general Acknowledgement. For example:
“I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today. I pay respects to the elders past and present, and I extend that to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today.”
Although Welcomes to Country and Acknowledgements of Traditional Owners are a significant way of recognising and celebrating the Traditional Ownership of Country, it is important they occur only when it is appropriate.
Welcomes to Country should be performed by formally recognised Traditional Owners on their land.
How does the Victorian Government formally recognise Traditional Owners?
There are 3 ways in which the Victorian Government formally recognises Traditional Owners of a particular Country:
- Registered Aboriginal Parties: The Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council appoints a Traditional Owner corporation to manage and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage (under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006).
- Recognition and Settlement Agreement: The Victorian Government and a Traditional Owner group make a legal agreement to recognise their rights (under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010).
- Native Title: Federal Court determines that Native Title exists, often alongside an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (under the Native Title Act 1993).
How can I find out who are the Formally Recognised Traditional Owners?
The easiest way to find out is to consult the interactive map. In the map you can search for an area, a postcode or an address to find the Traditional Owners.
Should I organise a Welcome to Country or Acknowledge the Traditional Owners of an area in Victoria?
Decision tree
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