Acknowledgement of country

Resource: Acknowledgement of Land in the Uniting Church in Australia

Various options…(some specifically mention the Kaurna people (Adelaide plains) but they can easily be adapted to other peoples and places)

We gather on the land of the __________________ people.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we live and work and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging.
Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
We recognise the past atrocities against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this land and that Australia was founded on the genocide and dispossession of First Nations people. We acknowledge that colonial structures and policies remain in place today and recognise the ongoing struggles of First Nations people in dismantling those structures. The struggle to seek justice, to remember and address this nation’s past is ongoing and is a necessary requirement for individual and collective healing process.
We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart to achieve justice, recognition and respect for First Nations people and a referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution. We accept the invitation contained in the Statement to walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
(Source: Australian Centre for International Justice

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today and pay respects to Elders past, present and future.
Ngadlu tampinthi Kaurna miyurna yaitya yarta-mathanya Wama Tarntanyaku. Parnaku yailtya, parnaku tapa purruna, parnaku yarta ngadlu tampinthi. Yalaka Kaurna Miyurna itu yailtya, tapa purruna, yarta kuma puru martinthi, puru warri-apinthi, puru tangka martulayinthi. Ngadlu tampinthi purkarna pukinangku, yalaka, tarrkarritya.

When our ancestors first came here this was a wild, strange land to them.
But the first people called it home.
They cultivated it with fire to provide food, water, medicine and shelter,
hearing in it the calling of the Creator Spirit.
so let us listen in this land, acknowledging all who have 
listened and heard the divine voice here before us. 
Let us recommit to justice and reconciliation in this land.

Acknowledgement of country
by Tarlee Leondaris
Holy Spirit, our Great Creator,
Whether in church or at home we acknowledge our places of worship stand on the traditional lands of First Peoples.
We praise the connection First Peoples have to the land and the wisdom this connection brings.
We give thanks for the many gifts of the earth that nourish us. For nutritious foods, clean water and fresh air.
May Your blessings be poured out on those living on challenging land; especially in areas damaged by drought, bushfires, floods and pollution.
We grieve that our human relationships on this earth are too often disconnected. We lament that our care for the earth has too often dwindled.
Great Creator, open our hearts to the cries of the earth.
Holy Spirit, provide us wisdom so that we may be reconciled. Guide us to work together as First and Second Peoples.
Fill us all with love to be Your disciples;
to care for one another and the earth.
Amen.

As we gather, we acknowledge the traditional owners of this land;
land that was taken from them without their consent, treaty or compensation. The Spirit of God has long-dwelled with the First Peoples of this ancient land. We honour the Kaurna people and pay our respects to their elders as we gather to worship God.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians on whose land this church was built. We commit ourselves to actively work alongside Aboriginal people for reconciliation and justice.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people who God placed as the traditional custodians of the country on which we stand. We pay our respects to them for their care of the land.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people,the first inhabitants of this place.
We honour them for their custodianship of the land on which we gather today.

For thousands of years the traditional custodians have walked in this land, on their own country. Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives. We acknowledge the Kaurna People and their stewardship of this land throughout the ages.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people, traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to their elders both past, present and future for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of the living Kaurna today.

We acknowledge that God is sovereign over all land. Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God. We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region in which this church is located, and we respect the spiritual relationship they have with their country. We pay our respects to all elders, past, present and those to come. We acknowledge that their cultural beliefs, authority and wisdom are still important to the Kaurna people today. As Christians, we commit ourselves to pray and work for justice and reconciliation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
(Source: Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod, National Aboriginal Bishop of the Anglican Church of Australia. Read his reasons for Christians to give an acknowledgement of land).

Acknowledgement of Country, Seas and Waterways
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians who have walked upon and cared for this land for thousands of years. We acknowledge the continued deep spiritual attachment and relationship of the First Nations Peoples to this Country. We acknowledge that these lands, waterways and seas always have been, are, and will always be lands, seas and waterways of the First Nations peoples. We commit to walking with and learning from the elders of these places, and to the ongoing journey of reconciliation. 

This Church (Pilgrim)
We acknowledge that the site of this church is placed adjacent to Tandanyangga (Victoria Square), which is the site of ceremony and ritual of the Kuarna people, the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains. We are awed that they celebrated the religious significance of place, plant and all living creatures; and that care for the earth was implanted in their law. We honour them and also delight in the sacred in our midst.
We pray that in the power of the Holy Spirit we might work together for reconciliation and justice in this land.

Using words from the Preamble to the Uniting Church Constitution
We acknowledge that we are on the land of the Kaurna people and that the Spirit was in the land revealing God to them through law, custom and ceremony. The same love and grace that was finally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ sustained the Kaurna people and gave them particular insights into God’s ways. Therefore, we honour the wisdom of the Kaurna Elders and their continuing culture, and pray that we might all work together for reconciliation and justice in this nation.

Acknowledging other Aboriginal Communities and the wisdom of their Elders
We acknowledge the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains. We acknowledge the wisdom of their Elders both past and present and pay respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders across Australian. We pray that in the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit we might work together for reconciliation and justice in this land.

Standard form – to use at public meetings
This acknowledgement is of the format used by government and many community organisations.
Ninna marni (a Kaurna word for “Hello, how are you?”)
We would like to acknowledge this land that we meeet on today is the traditional lands for the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today.

A call to Worship & acknowledgement – verses of Psalm 104
O God how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all!
The earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide.
Living things are there, both small and great.
All these look to you to give them their food in due season.
When you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed.
When you take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created.
Your spirit renews the face of the earth.
Your spirit brought life to this land
and blessed your Kaurna people.
Before explorers and settlers came to this land,
your spirit was in this place.
Your life giving spirit connects us to one another.
May we in community celebrate your spirit
within us and among us. Amen!

About admin

Rev Sandy Boyce is a Uniting Church in Australia Minister (Deacon). This blog may be a help to people planning worship services.
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