Acknowledgment of Country
Acknowledgement
PASIFIKA peoples are indigenous to the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, as indigenous peoples who have now chosen to live and thrive on the indigenous lands of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is only right and appropriate to start by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of Australia. Thank you for sharing such a critical and central part of your very being and who you are with us, we are humbled and grateful to be on this land.
We also acknowledge that the places upon which we live have always been places of learning and teaching.
Sincere thanks to your elders; past, present and emerging.
The importance of land for Indigenous peoples was emphasised by Rev, Dr Djinyini Gondarra OAM (Aboriginal elder, academic and theologian):
“The land is my mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment and provides our needs – economic, social and religious. We have a human relationship with the land: Mother, daughter, son. When the land is taken from us or destroyed, we feel hurt because we belong to the land and we are part of it.”
Rev, Dr Djinyini Gondarra OAM (Aboriginal elder, academic and theologian)
Similar sentiments are conveyed in Maori whakatauki proverb which demonstrates the importance and continuity of land to Maori, and the utmost respect they have for Papatuanuku, the mother of the earth:
“Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua”: As man disappears from sight, the land remains – this proverb demonstrates the importance and continuity of land to Maori, and the utmost respect they have for Papatuanuku, the mother of the earth.
The two quotes above show that both Indigenous Australian and Pasifika peoples view the land as a spiritual being, to which they have a spiritual connection. It is a critical dimension of their very being.
As stated above, Pasifika peoples are indigenous in their own right; they all have spiritual connections to the respective lands from which they trace their roots, oral traditions and creation stories. These lands lie in the Pacific (or Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa), all connected by the vast ocean.
To highlight the importance and spirituality of land, most families in the Pacific bury their relatives in front of their homes. Often these graves are places where kids play and people gather to talk and socialise. The separation between the dead and the living is not as marked as it is in Australia, and this proximity highlights how intergenerational links are kept strong in Pasifika communities. These burial sites also illustrate how Pasifika family trees are rooted and grown on land literally! This is why we believe we have a “spiritual connection to our lands”.
The similarity in Pasifika and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders’ view of the land as an integral part of their being, highlights and heightens the importance of acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of Australia before we start.