We at Cultural Nexus Indigenous Corporation pay our deepest respects and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters across this vast continent now known as Australia. We honour the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Nations of these lands—the oldest continuing cultures in the world—and acknowledge their deep spiritual connection to Country, which was established long before colonisation and continues unbroken to this day.

We acknowledge the Ancestors who walked these lands for countless generations, tending to Country with wisdom, ceremony, and care. We recognise their enduring presence in the whisper of the wind, the flow of the rivers, the patterns of the stars, and the beating heart of the land beneath our feet.

We pay our respects to Elders past and present—knowledge holders, truth-tellers, and guardians of culture. Your resilience in the face of dispossession, injustice, and erasure is an act of courage and a testament to the unshakable strength of your spirit. We also honour the young leaders emerging today who carry with them the stories, songlines, and hopes of their peoples into the future.

To our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters: we see you, we hear you, and we walk beside you.

At CNIC, our work is grounded in truth-telling, respect, and the unwavering belief that healing begins with acknowledging the full history of this land—including the pain, the strength, the resistance, and the hope. We acknowledge the sorrow carried through generations because of colonisation, the stolen children, broken treaties, and systemic exclusion—and we stand committed to ensuring this history is no longer denied or silenced.

We affirm that sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land. And in the Torres Strait, we honour the enduring custodianship of our Zenadth Kes peoples—navigators, warriors, and cultural keepers of our island nations. The Torres Strait is not just a passage between seas—it is a living cultural heartbeat that pulses with ceremony, language, and law.

We recognise that meaningful reconciliation is not a destination, but a journey—one that requires accountability, truth, and action. As an Indigenous-owned and led organisation, we are not just acknowledging Country as a formality. It is central to who we are. It shapes our values, our governance, our relationships, and our responsibilities to mob, to land, and to each other.

Every step we take at CNIC is guided by this respect for Country and community. We are here to amplify First Nations voices, champion cultural safety, and nurture systems that honour Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. We carry this responsibility with pride, and we welcome all who share in this vision of justice, dignity, and self-determination.

Let this acknowledgement be more than words—it is a promise. A promise to listen, to learn, to uplift, and to stand in solidarity with our peoples. We honour the past, acknowledge the present, and commit to shaping a future where all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are empowered to thrive.