INFOGRAPHIC: Welcome to Country
Nation First lists the facts on these divisive Welcome to Country ceremonies.
They told you it was ancient. Timeless. Sacred. Beyond question. But the facts tell a very different story.
The modern Welcome to Country industry, in the form that Australians now see at sporting matches, council meetings, corporate lunches and public ceremonies, is not some unchanged tradition stretching back thousands of years. Its current public-event format traces back to the 1970s and was later popularised through the arts scene in the 1980s. And yet, millions of Australians have been pressured into believing this is a permanent civic obligation rather than a recent custom.
And now you are paying for it.
___
Republished with thanks to Nation First. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
2 Comments
Leave A Comment
Recent Articles:
21 December 2024
3.4 MINS
In light of the recent court ruling, the question everyone should be asking is this: Why is Moira Deeming still a pariah, and why is John Pesutto still being propped up as a Liberal Party paragon?
25 September 2024
3.1 MINS
Has the Department of Justice just put a bounty on Donald Trump’s head? The DOJ released a letter from would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh, offering a $150,000 reward for anyone who “finished the job”.
Welcome to Country is offensive because it treats all non -Aboriginals as people who have no Right to live in Australia even if they were born here or are descended from the First Fleet , etc. It is anti-Christian , invokes Sorcery, and , is a way to extort money from us. I object to parts of Australia being declared exclusively “Aboriginal Land ” , where we are barred entry , or, must pay entry fees as our taxes support these sites. The idea of Areas declared exclusively Aboriginal land was started by a Liberal Premier in SA ( rumour said he was drunk at the time ) when he declared Mintabie Aboriginal Land. For years we were allowed to reside there , but, a few years ago ,all Whites were told to leave ( I had wisely left in anticipation ). All buildings were destroyed when the Aborigines went on a frightening rampage ( reported in “The Advertiser ” ). Activist Charlie Perkins was behind the Mabo Decision. The ABC was excluded from a Mintabie Town Meeting in the 1990s. I was taking notes, when Charlie stopped and tried to have me ejected, but, every miner stood up saying : “She is one of us ! If she goes, we ALL go !” Charlie was forced to apologise to me. A staunch Christian , Mr Justice Martin (a South Australian ) made the first decision to grant Aboriginal Land. Eventually , it went to the High Court . I used to go on Sundays singing hymns with the Aborigines . For years Australians have being funding/wasting billions into an Aboriginal Industry with little improvement in the lives of many Aborigines, only the luxury living of their elites who stay in the best hotels around the world and dress in designer fashion, while others live in overturned cars or squalid huts without basic amenities lacking proper drinking water, etc. Now we have the sad case of a little girl missing at the same time as a recently-released from jail Aboriginal prisoner was staying at the same camp where she was . Her panties have been found. My heart goes out to her family which includes Senator Jacinta N. Price and to the good Aboriginal family called Liddles , one of whom I knew in the 1990s.
The Truth Behind Modern Aboriginal Ceremonies
By: Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price
Many people assume that certain Aboriginal cultural practices, such as dot painting and Welcome to Country ceremonies, have been passed down for tens of thousands of years. Recent Welcome To Country Ceremonies have even suggested figures as high as 250,000 years. However, historical evidence suggests that these traditions were actually developed in recent decades.
• Dot Painting was invented in 1971 by Geoffrey Bardon, a white schoolteacher, who introduced the technique to Aboriginal artists in Papunya. Traditional Aboriginal art existed long before this, but there are no ancient dot paintings found in caves or on rock walls. The distinctive modern style emerged as part of a contemporary art movement.
• The Welcome to Country ceremony was created in 1976 by Ernie Dingo and Richard Walley. It was originally performed to welcome visiting Māori performers as a reciprocal gesture of hospitality. Unlike the Māori haka, which has deep historical and linguistic roots, there is no traditional Aboriginal word for Welcome to Country. This raises the question: How can it be an “ancient ceremony” if no term for it existed in traditional Aboriginal languages?
• The Acknowledgement of Country was introduced even later, in the 1990s. It is not an ancient ritual but rather a modern protocol developed for official and corporate settings.
• The Smoking Ceremony, often presented as an ancient practice, is another modern invention, also linked to Ernie Dingo around 1976. While smoke was used in some Indigenous customs for cleansing or healing, the formalized smoking ceremonies seen today were not widely practiced before the late 20th century.
• There is no photographic, film, or video evidence of any of these ceremonies being performed at major events—such as Royal Tours, AFL/NRL Grand Finals, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, or ANZAC Day services—before the 1970s and 1990s. If these traditions were truly ancient and widespread, they would have been documented in historical footage and in historical manuscript and observations by the many early explorers, historians and observers. There is no evidence that these practices were ever part of my cultural history.
The Importance of Truth Over Myth
Understanding history honestly is essential. While cultural traditions evolve over time, it is misleading to claim that recent inventions are ancient practices. Rather than accepting myths at face value, we should question divisive offensive narratives that are presented as historical fact.
https://frontlineveterans.com.au/news/f/the-truth-behind-modern-aboriginal-ceremonies