AustLit

'The protocols of Acknowledgement and Welcome to Country have become a common practice at the commencement of official or public events across Australia. However, there are profound differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous understandings of what these protocols mean. At the core of these differences are contrasting notions of sovereignty. Historically, Western legal traditions allowed colonising nations to claim ownership of land without forming sustainable relationships with the life of that land, But Aboriginal concepts of belonging always required that we looked after all the life forms that made up our homelands and that we respected the right of other peoples to be 'boss' in their own Countries. A better understanding of Welcome and Acknowledgement protocols by non-Indigenous peoples can lead to more respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples and with our homelands. '  (Introduction)