Welcome to Country ceremonies are an uplifting and informative component of most gatherings. Photo: Photox.
Since the appalling (and well-orchestrated) scenes at some Anzac Day services across the country on the weekend, where loud and sustained booing took place during Welcome to Country speeches, the whole concept of the ceremonies has come into question – again.
While a neo-nazi was charged over his behaviour at Sydney’s dawn service, and his disruptive and disrespectful actions condemned by most political leaders, debate has arisen about how used or overused these speeches might be.
The RSL is reviewing its guidelines for future use of the ceremonies, noting that its starting position is that they do have a place at Anzac Day services.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor condemned the booing, but he also criticised the frequency of the ceremonies.
“Booing, whatever the cause, on Anzac Day, at Anzac Day ceremonies, is absolutely inappropriate and un-Australian,” Mr Taylor said following the awful displays at some of Saturday’s services.
The Liberal leader then added an extra thought or two on the subject.
“I can understand the frustration Australians feel about the overuse of Welcome to Country. I feel that at times, often actually.
“I would like to see them used less and therefore not devalued as I think they have been over time.”
Many Australians might agree with that sentiment, but they could also be conflating Welcome to Country ceremonies with the far more frequently heard Acknowledgement of Country.
A Welcome to Country is an uplifting contribution to most conferences, seminars and gatherings of significance.
They can be as simple as a local Elder offering a few words or as elaborate as a traditional dance, song or smoking ceremony.
The significance of a Welcome to Country is in equal parts beautiful and powerful – and it is a great way to kick off what can often turn out to be an otherwise hard-going day of scheduled speeches and workshops.
Those who say they are tired of being welcomed to their own country don’t understand what a Welcome to Country is.
Or worse, they actually do understand but deliberately misconstrue the meaning for their own devious purposes.
But let’s talk briefly about Acknowledgement of Country.
If there is anything that is being overused and devalued, it’s that.
An Acknowledgement of Country can be offered by anyone at the start of a meeting to recognise that the land on which the meeting is being held is long-held traditional land.
That concept is fine too and should only take a few seconds.
But how many times have you been in a meeting where the chair offers an acknowledgement, but then every single speaker to follow does the same thing?
You are all nodding right now.
How often, when that happens, do you think “this is ridiculous”?
Still nodding yes?
Talk about devaluing a practice.
Further devaluing is the increasing wont of (mostly) public service types to open every discussion with an Acknowledgement of Country.
Coffee catch-ups are now even starting with such acknowledgements.
That’s not a joke. They really are, and it’s a way-over-the-top and inappropriate use of an otherwise respectful practice.
So, Welcome to Country? Please let’s keep this inclusive and uplifting practice going.
Acknowledgement of Country? Rein it in a bit, please, public servants – it’s getting embarrassing.
I will finish with an actual experience I had a few years back, when I was asked to chair a conference for a public service audience at Old Parliament House.
The company staging the event didn’t seem to have grasped the difference between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country, as this exchange I had with its directors just days before the event shows.
Here’s how the conversation went (from memory).
Director: “We’ve left it too late to find someone to do the Welcome to Country, so you’ll just have to do it, Chris.”
Me: (laughs)
Director: “Just make it short and sweet, and it’ll be fine.”
Me: “Oh, you’re being serious.”
Director: “Yeah, sorry, but it’s printed in the program that we’re having a Welcome to Country, so we’d better have one.”
Me: “You know I can’t do that, yeah?”
Director: “Sure, you can. It’ll be easy. I can get you some words written up if you like.”
Me: “No, I mean I can’t do a Welcome to Country. I’m not qualified.”
Director: “What qualifications do you need for goodness sake?”
Me: “Be Indigenous for a start.”
Director: “What?”
Me: “If I – or you – delivered a Welcome to Country at this seminar, it would be highly offensive. It would also likely make the news, and not in a good way for us.”
Director: “So what do we do? It’s in the program.”
Me: “I’ll do an acknowledgement of the land we’re meeting on. I was going to do that anyway. But we can’t have a whitefella doing a Welcome to Country. You really don’t get this, do you?”
Director: “But it’s in the program. It says ‘Welcome to Country’. We’ve got to have one.
Me: “Leave it with me. I’ll find someone to do a Welcome to Country.”
Director: “At this late stage?”
Me: “Yeah. There’s actually a list of local elders who are willing to do it.”
Other director (who up to this point had been silent throughout the whole conversation: “Yeah, leave it with Chris. He’ll find someone.”
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
