When âThe Amazing Race Australiaâ premieres on February 1, it will begin with a âWelcome to Countryâ ceremony for the contestants given by the Kuku Yalanji people of far north Queensland.
Cousins Dwes Wiggan-Dann and Katherine Dann have said itâs important the show recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the sacred land where the competition was filmed. As Aboriginal people themselves, they felt their âdeep sense of belonging really showedâ when the ceremony took place.
âThe Welcome to Country we received was literally a time for us to ground ourselves in our country and really be accepted by the traditional owners of the area we visited,â Dwes told HuffPost Australia.
He explained the Kuku Yalanji people, who are the traditional owners of the rainforests in north Queensland, gave them âpermission to travel and participate in the race on the sacred landâ.
âEven though Katherine and I are Aboriginal people ourselves, I think our deep sense of belonging really showed when we were welcomed by the traditional owners,â said the Barda man who grew up in One Arm Point, an Aboriginal community in Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.
âThat embrace really resonated with us and allowed us to genuinely be part of an area thatâs not our home, our traditional cultural home.â
Reconciliation Australia, an organisation focusing on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, explains âa Welcome to Country is delivered by Traditional Owners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been given permission from Traditional Owners, to welcome visitors to their Countryâ.
Usually occurring at the start of an event, it can involve dancing, singing, smoking ceremonies or a speech in traditional language or English.
Professor Mick Dodson spoke to the organisation about the meaning of country for First Nations Australians, saying itâs âsomething beyond the dictionary definition of the wordâ.
âWe might mean homeland, or tribal or clan area, and we might mean more than just a place on the map. For us, country is a word for all the values, places, resources, stories and cultural obligations associated with that area and its features. It describes the entirety of our ancestral domains.â
Dwes and Katherine form one of 14 teams competing on âThe Amazing Raceâ this year.
Katherine, who is also from the Kimberley region, said the duo wanted to set an example and prove to the rest of the country that thereâs more to them than meets the eye.
âMy biggest thing was to be showing that Dwes and I both knew the country as well as the city life... that we could navigate all different kinds of areas,â she told HuffPost Australia.
âWeâre always challenging ourselves to be better and always want to achieve something great for our people,â added Dwes.
This year the show is hosted by Beau Ryan, with $250,000 in prize money up for grabs. The challenges were filmed in Australia instead of overseas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
âThe Amazing Race Australiaâ premieres at 7:30pm Monday, February 1, on Channel 10.
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