Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation



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Protocols and Symbols

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is developing a strategy to promote Indigenous symbols and protocols as part of the national document of reconciliation. This strategy seeks to recognise the significance of Indigenous cultures and heritage and to encourage action at both the national and local level.

The Protocols strategy encourages governments at all levels to make commitments to incorporate appropriate Indigenous customs and traditions into ceremonies of state. Examples are the swearing in of new heads of state, members of parliament, or local government councilors, the opening of commonwealth and state parliaments, welcomes for visiting heads of state and citizenship ceremonies. It also encourages the adoption of appropriate Indigenous "welcomes to country" and acknowledgement of traditional ownership at the local level including governments, clubs, organisations and associations.

The Symbols strategy provides a broad approach for governments, Indigenous people and community groups to negotiate establishing physical symbols of reconciliation such as signage, monuments, or statues that fairly reflect the contribution of Indigenous peoples in the shaping of national and local history.

You could think about ways to promote and establish Indigenous protocols and symbols in your community as a contribution to the reconciliation process.

Partnerships

Local groups, communities, organisations and individuals can play an important part in forging partnerships of reconciliation. A Partnerships Booklet produced by the Council is available to assist in thinking of ways to approach partnerships. See the Partnerships site for more information on partnerships and agreements.

Agreements

It is important for agreements to be established in order to ensure that reconciliation and in particular documents of reconciliation and national action plans are given effect at all levels. Agreements can range from smaller-scale commitments to regional agreements to reconciliation. Agreements can take a variety of forms and are all equally important in establishing community support for reconciliation. You may wish to refer to the ALGA site for information on agreements.

 

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