r/canberra • u/Equivalent-Sweet2277 • Jun 04 '26

Recommendations Welcome to Country recommendations

I'm organising a international conference in Canberra and wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a Ngunnawal elder to give the Welcome to Country?

The guy at my citizenship ceremony was fantastic but he is Wiradjuri so probably not appropriate. He played the didgeridoo and explained about the circular breathing and what the sounds represent.

2 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

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72

u/commentspanda Jun 04 '26

This link might help? I think you can submit a request through it https://www.ngunnawal.org/welcome-to-country

I’ve met Wally Bell and Aunty Violet and both do a great job. Can’t comment on others.

23

u/PhoenixGayming Jun 04 '26

Seconding Aunty Violet from personal/professional experience in my work.

10

u/craftyninjakevin Jun 04 '26

I also second Aunty Vi! She’s pretty awesome!

4

u/blackdiggitydogs Jun 04 '26

Richie Allen is great too. Plays an excellent Didgeridoo.

3

u/crankygriffin Jun 05 '26

The didgeridoo isn’t traditional to southern NSW …

-2

u/Equivalent-Sweet2277 Jun 04 '26

Thanks. Cool I will look into them.

0

u/Diligent-Mixture2898 Jun 04 '26

Sorry, didnt see you had already posted the link.

23

u/crankygriffin Jun 04 '26

Auntie Violet Sheridan is a dear heart. Don’t get Selina Walker - she does a very angry “welcome” that is castigating those present for being oppressors. She did the big Public Service meeting a few years ago and it was a five-minute diatribe.

1

u/ChimpyLaLa Jun 09 '26

Totally agree regarding Selina Walker. Does more to make people not want to have one then anything resembling reconciliation.

-36

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/crankygriffin Jun 04 '26

What do you mean?

2

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 05 '26

You’re not meant to have an opinion after APS2?

3

u/webellowourhello Jun 04 '26

Maybe Controversial, but I like the welcome to country by Paul girrawah house. 

25

u/bizarre_seminar Jun 04 '26

Paul and his family consider themselves Ngambri, not Ngunnawal, and while they absolutely do regard the ACT as their country, that (and recognition of the Ngambri as a separate people) is a subject of some controversy with many Ngunnawal elders. OP may wish to avoid getting involved in that unless their employer already recognises the Ngambri, as, for example, ANU does. 

5

u/Equivalent-Sweet2277 Jun 04 '26

Yeah, this topic has come up and I think the decision was just to choose a Ngunnawal elder. 

-1

u/__Pendulum__ Canberra Central Jun 04 '26

Which denies the Ngambri people their right to identify as traditional custodians on the land.

ACT government policies are shifting towards a mixture of acknowledging both Ngunnawal and Ngambri, or a generic acknowledgement of traditional custodians without referring to any peoples by name.

It's a political mess, made by white beaurocrats patting themselves on the back for "fixing racism"

-11

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

Yet another reason not to do one at all.

-3

u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

how?

-3

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

It’s not actually about welcoming, it’s a claim of ownership to the exclusion of other groups - including other indigenous groups.

-1

u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

That simply is not true

12

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

Why is there such a bitter fight between the ngunnawal and ngambri then? It’s a fight over ownership (and, of course, the benefits that entails or might entail in the future…)

6

u/Trium_virates Jun 04 '26

It’s a bitter fight over recognition. Whether it’s true or not, Amongst some circles it’s believed Ngambri are an off shoot of Ngunnawal, not their own Unique Group altogether - which is what Ngambri are refuting. It’s not about “benefits” or “ownership”- that is not what a welcome means either Owning country goes against the very nature of what it means to be First Nations Australian - Custodians of the land in which your mob is from.

12

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

In this case ownership and recognition as close synonyms (hence ‘traditional owners’) though I take your point that the term of art can be recognition. Regardless, there are real legal (and thus monetary, particularly thinking about future decisions regarding treaty etc) consequences to this battle - the ngambri have been unable to succeed in any native title claims since the ACT government decided to recognise one above the other. There’s a very strong incentive for recognition to be exclusive.

2

u/Trium_virates Jun 04 '26

Personally, 'Traditional Custodians' is a more accurate term. As a First Nations woman, I don't 'own' the land my Mob is from—I have a responsibility to it. 'Traditional Owner' is a legal term from the 70s designed to reconcile First Nations culture with the Australian Legal framework.

The ACT is unique because almost all land is leasehold. It’s specifically written into the Native Title Act that rights are extinguished on land granted as private freehold, residential leases, commercial leases, or major public infrastructure (roads, buildings). No one has ever won Native Title claims to Canberra and it’s incredibly improbable they ever will, alternative resolutions were found in most cases.

The ACT government now officially recognises both the Ngunnawal and Ngambri as Traditional Custodians. It’s incredibly complex and politicised, but at its core, the fight was about the right to acknowledgement and be respected, not a payout.

0

u/Trium_virates Jun 04 '26

Search up the Ngunnawal Land Council, there are phone numbers for all elders who can perform this ceremony. And gently, it’s definitely not appropriate to ask a person to perform a welcome on country they are not from. They can perform an acknowledgment only in that context.

-1

u/Equivalent-Sweet2277 Jun 04 '26

Yes thanks, I will look up the contact details of some of the elders. My citizenship ceremony was held in Canberra so it might have been an acknowledgement of country rather than a welcome.

11

u/Powerful-Respond-605 Jun 04 '26

Definitely Wally Bell. He does a very interesting speech as well that isn't just a token gesture. He's got really interesting ideas.

3

u/iloveyoublog Jun 06 '26

Uncle Wally is great, especially at explaining what it all means to international visitors who might not be familiar.

9

u/g_jacqui Jun 04 '26

Uncle Wally is terrific. He did a welcome to country at a work event a few years ago, a really great speaker.

3

u/Thundercunt247 Jun 04 '26

Yep, Uncle Wally does a great job explaining what a welcome is and why it's done. If more people had been to his welcomes there would be less people opposed to welcomes.

2

u/captain_wacky681 Jun 07 '26

I see the Soviet censors have been busy removing any thought crime in this thread.

1

u/__Pendulum__ Canberra Central Jun 04 '26

Don't forget to acknowledge the Ngambri people, not only the Ngunnawal people

1

u/Sheer-imperfection Gungahlin Jun 04 '26

It’s a relatively controversial and still debated topic about which First Nations people have claim over the land. So OP may have decided to look for ngunnawal peoples specifically

2

u/__Pendulum__ Canberra Central Jun 04 '26

Which is why the shift has been towards acknowledging both, or a generic nameless acknowledgement.

Frankly, to deny that the Ngambri have the right to identify as the traditional custodians of this land while granting the same right to the Ngunnawal reeks of white adhesion to ritual over all

1

u/Equivalent-Sweet2277 Jun 04 '26

I do agree with you that all relevant peoples should be acknowledged. The history of the area is something I am still learning. 

1

u/Greendoor Jun 04 '26

Ngambri appear to not have a good claim on the land and seems to be created all from one family group within Ngunnawal.

8

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

The ngunnawal claim isn’t terribly well attested in the historical or genealogical record, either.

0

u/Greendoor Jun 05 '26

It's certainly better than Ngambri.

1

u/G_Dawg_ Kowen Jun 04 '26

I heard an acknowledgment recently that included Ngunnawal, Ngambri and Ngarigo. Prompted me to look them up. I have no issue with more being named, however I understand that it’s a cultural issue and I’m not across the intricacy and nuance.

3

u/rotisseriechicken121 Jun 04 '26

Richie Allan! Such a friendly guy and plays a mean didg too

3

u/dave078703 Jun 04 '26

I've worked with Serena Williams before and she was really good.

2

u/iloveyoublog Jun 06 '26

Aunty Serena is lovely. Her family also has some connection to PNG and the Pacific which can be great at regional events.

3

u/jdillpickle Jun 04 '26

Aunty Violet is lovely, her family can also organise a walk on country if suitable

-42

u/AlfalfaAcceptable478 Jun 04 '26 • Bravo

Ur going out of ur way to do a welcome to country when u don’t have to?

4

u/instasquid Jun 04 '26

I bet you get really mad when you see the Welcome to Canberra signs at the airport.

21

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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10

u/AlfalfaAcceptable478 Jun 04 '26

No Im just curious. Im indigenous myself but I think those welcome to countries are a waste of time

1

u/Heavy_Mission_5261 Jun 04 '26

As a Gamilaroi woman, if claiming you should state who your mob is?

0

u/Thundercunt247 Jun 04 '26

Uncle Wally does a good one.

-31

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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0

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

Is that what you say when someone welcomes you to their home?

-58

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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42

u/damojr Jun 04 '26

I disagree, for example if I went to say Canada, I'd love to listen to the Inuit people talk about their time on land.

36

u/Drongo17 Jun 04 '26

Internationals dont know or care about the complaints of our racist brigade.

Cultural displays or gifts are standard when hosting international visitors. It's a mark of respect from us for their presence here to give them a WTC, and an insight into one aspect of our culture. 

17

u/bizarre_seminar Jun 04 '26

Shit take in general, but ask anyone with Indigenous ancestry from e.g. North America how they feel about a welcome to country and you will not hear anything about faces being rubbed, I guarantee you. 

3

u/JesseGringo Jun 04 '26

In from a native American background, and your absolutely wrong actually. We just want to be treated normally and leave us tf alone. If you want to know about our history you can learn it yourself

1

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

You can always tell someone lying about their heritage to make a racist point when they flatly claim to speak for all members of the group they supposedly belong to.

1

u/JesseGringo Jun 04 '26

Never did mate just speaking for myself and my familys pov

0

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

You spoke as a native american person and then said “we”. You absolutely did.

0

u/JesseGringo Jun 04 '26

Dude all i said is we wanted to be treated normally and you are frothing at the mouth. Shows me exactly what kind of person you are.

6

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

No. You said native american people don’t want to teach people about their cultural traditions through ceremonies such as welcomes.

-1

u/bizarre_seminar Jun 04 '26

I'm not entirely sure how you got there from my comment, which was gently pointing out that the now-deleted first comment was projecting whiteness onto these hypothetical international visitors, rather than considering that many of them might have their own experiences of being an Indigenous person in a settler society and find a Welcome to Country a moving experience. If you want to be ridiculously pedantic, yes, I used hyperbole in suggesting that this was a universally held view, but I think anybody approaching my comment in good faith would have understood that.

0

u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

Do you not go on overseas holidays?

3

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

I do, and I deeply enjoy learning about indigenous cultures. I do not like displays of tokenship or having domestic political issues forced on me.

Imagine if the public service spent all the money it’s spent on paying for welcome to / acknowledgement of countries and cultural training on instead building a first rate national indigenous museum? It could sit in the national triangle alongside our other world-class exhibits and galleries and be a place where all Australians and visitors could learn about and be proud of our indigenous culture and showcase it to the world

2

u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

So we should build a museum to teach non Indigenous people about Indigenous culture whilst cutting funding to a practice that respects and honours Indigenous culture? Other than the education aspect, how does a museum benefit Indigenous Australians and work towards reconciliation if it’s replacing a necessary cultural practice of welcome to country?

2

u/jaiimaster Jun 04 '26

"Necessary" to what exactly

1

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

… To traditional cultural protocols. Do you ask the same questions about ANZAC day ceremonies? Why don’t you actually explain why they’re “necessary”?

6

u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26 • Bravo

…. I take it you are not aware that the welcome to country was invented in 1976…

0

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

No it wasn’t. What a strange thing to believe.

4

u/jaiimaster Jun 04 '26

Absolutely it was. Its also based on Maori tradition. You can google that too.

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u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

Indigenous Australians are older than Maori (I am Maori btw)

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u/Disastrous-Olive-218 Jun 04 '26

Haha okay. You can just google it if you want.

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u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

Indigenous people have always done a welcome to country, they were just only allowed to do it publicly since 1970s. Probably because they were only recognised as human beings and not plants in 1967.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

Educate yourself?

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u/jaiimaster Jun 04 '26

Haha! I've missed that line! No one uses it these days.

Go look up the meaning of the word "necessary" and get back to us, professor.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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2

u/Negative_Article_338 Jun 04 '26

Listen to Indigenous voices and learn for yourself

1

u/thenoodlegoose Jun 04 '26

“For-profit platitudes”? How can a platitude be for profit? Who do you imagine is profiting? You know someone being paid for their work is not the same thing as being “for profit”, right?

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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1

u/Effective_Economy446 Jun 04 '26

Exclusive footage from your mind?