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Welcome to country

A Welcome to Country is usually performed at conferences/meetings etc where there is an indigenous focus.  If you require an Aboriginal person to undertake a Welcome to Country then please contact the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA) who can advise relevant protocols and put you in contact with an appropriate person.

Acknowledgement

Where an event does not have an indigenous focus then an Acknowledgement of Country may be used.  The following standard acknowledgements are recommended for use:

Example 1

I acknowledge and pay respect to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community as the traditional and original owners and continuing custodians of this land.

Example 2

In respect and recognition of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we are standing on here today.

Acknowledgement of Aboriginal people at an event

If a speaker wishes to acknowledge Aboriginal community people who may be attending the event, the following example may be used:

Firstly I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the elders that are here today, to acknowledge those who have passed before us and to acknowledge the members of the Aboriginal community who are also attending this event.

The standard acknowledgement and the acknowledgement of Aboriginal people could be combined for a suitable acknowledgement.

Acknowledgement of place

It may not always be possible to determine an acknowledgement of place because information relating to the traditional and original owners may not be well documented and the information not easy to locate. OAA may be able to assist in determining correct place names.  If this type of acknowledgement is preferred, the following is an example of how it could be worded:

(for Hobart) I would like to pay respect to the traditional and original owners of this land the mouheneenner (mou  wee  nee  nar) people, - to pay respect to those that have passed before us and to acknowledge today’s Tasmanian Aboriginal community who are the custodians of this land.

Correct terminology

The following terms are considered suitable for use:

• Tasmanian Aborigines
• Tasmanian Aboriginal community
• Tasmanian Aboriginal people

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