A Welcome to Country ceremony specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the age of three brought families and community members together to help strengthen cultural identity from the earliest years.

A Welcome to Country ceremony specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the age of three brought families and community members together to help strengthen cultural identity from the earliest years.

More than 50 babies living in the Playford and Salisbury council areas were welcomed at the event, organised in collaboration by not-for-profit Nunkuwarrin Yunti and the State Government grants program Connected Beginnings for Playford/Salisbury in consultation with the Connected Beginnings Leadership Group.

AnglicareSA’s Communities for Children Playford team were excited to be invited to the event, and donated a blanket for every child registered with their name embroidered.

Connected Beginnings Community Liaison Officer, Ally Moyle, said the idea to organise the Welcome to Baby Country event was in response to similar events being run in the local area that the community considered not culturally appropriate for First Nations families.

“Welcome Baby to Country is important for our families,” Ally said.

“First Nations people know their culture, and we are the best people to lead this event and work in collaboration with non-First Nations. It is about being respectful of our protocols and involving our Elders.

“So we thought, let’s create our own event, bringing culture in, smoking our babies, and getting respected First Nations Elders in the community with cultural gifts.”

 

 

Kaurna Elder Rosalind Coleman performed the Welcome to Country, as proud First Nations man James Wanganeen played the didgeridoo while the infants and their caregivers stood in a circle around a fire, had their foreheads painted with ochre, and were smoked in a traditional ceremony led by First Nations women Naomi and Maureen from Spirit in Unity.

Connected Beginnings Playford/Salisbury Project Manager, Megan Hickman, said the event was a more intentional Welcome to Country for children to be connected spiritually with their culture and Country.

“This is a cultural celebration that honours a baby’s spiritual connection to the lands of their birth, acknowledging their place within Country, community, and culture,” she said.

“It’s a tradition, and what our ancestors used to do with our babies is smoke them when they are born, which cleanses them and plays a big part in our culture.

“By carrying on these traditions and cleansing our babies to keep their spirits strong, we keep that connection with our identity.”

Local parent Ann, who is connected with AnglicareSA’s Communities for Children Playford, said she took her First Nations foster child to the event to strengthen her cultural ties.

“It is important to bring her to events like these and connect her with First Nations culture and people,” Ann said.

Organisers said they hoped, following the success of this year’s event, Welcome Baby to Country would become an annual event in the northern suburbs supporting babies and toddlers to develop cultural pride and feel they belong in their community.