How to introduce and create a meaningful Acknowledgement of Country in your learning community.
One of the most familiar ways to embed a First Nations’ perspective in a school or learning environment is with an Acknowledgement of Country.
As stated in the Welcome to Country guide from the Victorian Department of Education, an Acknowledgement of Country can be conducted by anyone (children or adults) who wishes to pay their respect to the Traditional Owners of the land on which the event or meeting is taking place.
It is important that an Acknowledgement of Country is personal and meaningful, it shouldn’t be something delivered by rote to tick a box. However it is important that it is a regular part of your class routine. I have even received advice that specialist teachers, for example, could conduct an Acknowledgement of Country with each of their classes throughout the day, even if those classes already gave an Acknowledgement earlier in the day in their home rooms.
Creating an Acknowledgement of Country
The process involved in creating an Acknowledgement with your class will depend on their familiarity with the concept. Many early learning centres do amazing work in this area and so children who have come through the Kinder system may be familiar with the concept and may even be able to share the Acknowledgement of Country that they learned. For some schools and children from international backgrounds, this is still an unfamiliar concept.
A great way to approach this is to start by talking with children about the purpose of an Acknowledgement of Country, and sharing some examples with them. Play School released a great clip when they introduced Kiya, talking about what an Acknowledgement of Country is and why it is important.
The book Welcome to Country by Joy Murphy is another great place to start, especially if you are in Melbourne, although the message can be related to any area in Australia.
There are many examples of Acknowledgement of Country available, but here are a few of my favourites.
Welcome to all People, by Ruby Hunter
Acknowledgement of Country, Queensland Department of Education
Children’s Acknowledgement of Country, Lifelong Learning Centres
Acknowledgement of Country, Reconciliation Australia
I also adore the song “Let us pay respects” by Sharron Bell, which can be found on her CD Ngama. You can hear a selection from this recording here. I use it as my first Acknowledgement of Country when introducing the idea to a new class.
Spending time on Country, even if that is just in your school yard, talking about what children can see, hear and feel is a great way to connect them to the land and start them thinking about what Country means to them.
Initially, as your class becomes familiar with the concept, you might choose to use one of the examples above as your class Acknowledgement of Country. Then, as the children become more familiar with the idea and more confident in expressing their connection to Country, you can write one together. It can be spoken word or sung. It can be voiced only or may include instruments, clapping sticks are very popular for calling children to the circle and even for keeping the beat. You can choose to create your own tune or to create new words to accompany a tune the class is familiar with.
I would love to know if you give this a go with your class. How did you start out? What Acknowledgement did you first use? Did you write one of your own? Remember to let me know if you are happy for me to share your ideas on the blog.
Further information and guidance can be found at indigenous.gov.au
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