Spotlight on Welcome to Country ceremonies in wake of Anzac Day controversy
Indigenous elders explain why they believe Welcome to Country ceremonies have faced opposition, and why abandoning the practice would create a cultural "abyss".
A Welcome to Country performed in Boorloo (Perth) as part of Reconciliation Week. (ABC News: Jake Sturmer)
This Reconciliation Week, elders have explained the origins of the cultural tradition and what would be lost if society abandoned the practice.
They say a lack of understanding underpins opposition to welcomes.
Welcome to Country ceremonies have become increasingly politicised in recent years.
Noongar elder Aunty Tina Hayden carries out a Welcome to Country as part of the Boorloo (Perth) Walk for Truth. (ABC News: Jake Sturmer)
But elders who spoke to the ABC said they believed opposition to the ceremonies largely came from people who did not understand them.
Noongar leader Colleen Hayward is among those who want people to understand more about the tradition.
Noongar leader Colleen Hayward says a lack of understanding fuels opposition to the cultural tradition. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
While she thinks welcomes and acknowledgements risk losing their value when used too often, she also wishes their significance was better understood.
"It is necessary before significant events and functions, and not just necessary but I think it can enrich and really connect people to what they're there for.
A smoking ceremony is performed in Boorloo (Perth) as part of Reconciliation Week. (ABC News: Jake Sturmer)
What is today known as a Welcome to Country traces its roots deep into Indigenous history.
"In the old days, if we just wandered onto someone else's country it was seen as an act of hostility," senior Larrakia elder, Richard Fejo, said.
"We would sit on that boundary and we wait for them to come along and sit down, and we'd explain why we were there and if it was acceptable they would welcome us onto their country."
Dr Richard Fejo says Welcome to Country has deep roots in Indigenous history. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)
If the other tribe welcomed the visitors onto their country, it would be with "the guidance and protection of our ancestors".
Children watch a Welcome to Country ceremony as part of the Boorloo (Perth) Walk for Truth. (ABC News: Jake Sturmer)
"There's an obligation or expectation that you'll care for the land, that you will care for the people, the community," Dr Fejo said.
The origins of the modern form of Welcome to Country are attributed to Richard Walley and Ernie Dingo, who were part of an Aboriginal theatre company in 1978 asked by a group of Polynesian performers to give a welcome.
Only a couple of decades ago the Acknowledgment of Country was mostly seen as a political act. Now it's everywhere from playschool to pa
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