Acknowledgement of Country
As people from other tribes travelled into the territory of the Ngunnawal people, they offered gifts as a symbol of respect and acknowledgement of the territory and tribe they were visiting. In return, they were greeted and invited to leave their footprint on the country of the Ngunnawal. This practice of acknowledging country is reflected at the beginning of formal occasions and ceremonies today in the formal Acknowledgement of Country.
An Acknowledgement of Country is a means by which all people can show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and heritages and the ongoing connection and relationship with the land and sea.
Example of appropriate wording for an Acknowledgement of Country:
This is Ngunnawal Country. I/we acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners of this land on which we work and live. I/we acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and connections to land, water and community. I/we pay respect to the Elders of the Ngunnawal Nation past, present and emerging. Always was always will be.
Acknowledgment of Country in Ngunnawal Language.
Since 2002, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT have regularly acknowledged the Ngunnawal people. In November 2019, the Assembly voted unanimously to begin delivering the Acknowledgement of Country at the start of every sitting day in Ngunnawal language. It was delivered for the first time on 20 July 2020 and marked a significant milestone in the Assembly’s reconciliation journey with the local Ngunnawal people. The use of an indigenous language Acknowledgement was also a first among Australia’s parliaments.
The Ngunnawal language Acknowledgement has became part of a larger project among the Ngunnawal people to rebuild our language. The project began with AIATSIS in 2014 with no fluent living Ngunnawal speakers and only 250 remaining words. Since then, it has reconstructed 2,500 words, including much of the language used in the Assembly’s Acknowledgement of Country.