These ceremonies express an Aboriginal understanding of a relational world, where the Ancestral Beings brought Country into being, and where all life remains interconnected. They call participants to belonging, balance, and the shared work of repairing life on Country. Each concludes with the affirmation: ‘Let it be lived.’
Ceremony of Thankfulness for the Treaty
On Country we gather,
in the presence of the Ancestral Beings
who shaped these lands,
who breathed life into river, rock, and tree,
and who continue to hold us in the embrace of Country,
our first mother and constant teacher.
We give thanks for the Treaty —
a step toward remembering who we are,
a renewal of our belonging,
a commitment to live once more in right relationship
with each other and with the land that sustains us.
We remember those who carried the stories,
who tended the fire of care
through seasons of forgetting and loss.
Their courage has brought us to this day.
May this Treaty deepen our understanding of connection —
that all things live because of one another,
that harm to one is harm to all,
that repair must be shared work.
As the land renews itself after fire and drought,
may our relationships also find renewal.
May we listen to the wisdom in wind and water,
and learn again the law of balance and belonging.
On Country we find our way home —
together, and with gratitude.
Let it be lived.
Responsive Ceremony of Thankfulness for the Treaty
Leader: We gather on Country, in the presence of the Ancestral Beings who formed this land and all life within it.
People: We give thanks for their continuing presence in the hills, the rivers, the wind, and in us.
Leader: Today we mark the passing of the Treaty — a renewal of belonging and shared responsibility.
People: We rejoice in this step toward connection, balance, and repair.
Leader: We remember those who held the stories and kept the songlines alive when silence was heavy.
People: Their care carried the world; their hope guides us still.
Leader: May this Treaty help us to listen deeply to Country,
and to each other,
that life may be made whole again.
People: May it teach us to walk gently,
to live in respect, and to act for the healing of all things.
Leader: On Country, we are held in the circle of relationship —
past and present, seen and unseen.
People: We belong to this land, and it belongs to us.
All: In gratitude we commit ourselves to the work of repair.
Let it be lived.