Collingwood will proudly host its first Welcome to Country ahead of its match against the Western Bulldogs this Sunday.

The ceremony is a part of the club’s celebration of the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, which will link up with other events across the country this weekend.

“It’s the first Welcome to Country that Collingwood has had at a home ground in Indigenous Round. It’s pretty epic,” Debby Lovett, the club’s Indigenous Programs Manager, told Collingwood Media.

“We’ve got Aunty Joy Murphy, who is a Wurundjeri elder, doing our Welcome to Country. Aunty Joy has worked with the AFL for many years now, and it is a great privilege to have her at the game on Sunday to perform our Welcome to Country. We’re also having Welcome to Country in our President’s Function as well, where we will have Alex Kerr reading an acknowledgement.

“They’re two really epic movements from Collingwood.

“We’ve gone through the Wurundjeri land council, which is now the protocol, and we have got Aunty Joy doing it. She’s had a history with the AFL for the last 15 years, as well as the MCC. We’re really honoured to have her.

“Hopefully it’s something that we can continue to do every year. It’s not seen as tokenistic, because there is all the other stuff that we are doing that will support it.”

Lovett, who is helping oversee the club’s Indigenous Round events and activities, says it is fitting that the Magpies are playing on their home ground, the MCG, to help mark the occasion.

“The MCG traditionally was what was known as an Aboriginal meeting place, or gathering place, so the five groups of the Kulin came together and that’s where they did their trading, whether it be food, weapons and the like.

“It’s really relevant that Indigenous Round is there, that the MCG is part of it and that Aunty Joy, as a Wurundjeri elder, is going to do it. It’s huge.”

Sunday’s match is just one part of the club’s involvement in Indigenous Round.

The club’s staff underwent cultural awareness training during the lead up to the match, while the Magpie featured on the Indigenous guernsey, designed by Nathan Patterson, will also be seen on the club’s banner and on the big screen on match day.

“We’ve also got a group of kids coming down from Yuendumu, which is up the Top End, almost 300 kilometres from Alice Springs,” Lovett continues.

“They have indigenous sport academies. There is a group of indigenous kids in Melbourne this week for dream time weekend. It’s a rewards system for good grades, good behaviour and good attendance. They’re in Melbourne already and Collingwood has got them doing a guard of honour as the boys run out on Sunday as well.

Lovett’s connection to Collingwood reaches far beyond her current role as its Indigenous Programs Manager.

Her father’s cousin, Wally Lovett, was the first Indigenous player to represent the club back in 1982.

“Collingwood is really stepping up to the plate in respect to supporting Indigenous Round.

“Although we’ve only got one indigenous player on our list (Travis Varcoe), we’ve actually got a history of indigenous players.

“I feel really blessed, as a Collingwood supporter, and an Aboriginal person, to be involved.

“Hopefully each year we just get bigger and bigger.”

About Collingwood’s Barrawarn Program

The Barrawarn Program is the Collingwood Football Club’s key Indigenous community program and operates in partnership with AFL SportsReady.

Collingwood is committed to supporting Aboriginal Victorians in our community and has been operating a range of programs and initiatives over the past 15 years.

The aim of the Barrawarn Program is to empower young Indigenous Australians through employment and educational opportunities and to tackle disadvantage through increased economic participation and development.

The Barrawarn Program is delivered in two streams – the Barrawarn Direct Employment Program and the Barrawarn Trainee Program – and each has been operating with tremendous success for the past 3 years.

For more information on the Barrawarn program, please click here.

The club has a major partnership with the State Government Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources as part of the Employment Start Up for Indigenous Jobseekers project and has recorded fantastic results with 46 full time work placements achieved over the past three years with a range of host employers.

Dixon Patten, an indigenous designer who helped produce the Barrawarn logo, explains the design.

“The circles within circles represent Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, as they come together to celebrate the Indigenous Round.

“The football motif is depicted, as they are coming together for the love of the game.

“The hands depict Collingwood's athletes reaching high.

“The semi-circles depict our old people (ancestors) guiding them on their journey. The boomerang shapes are placed to mimic the fast-paced high energy movement in the game of football.”

The Collingwood Football Club Foundation also provides support to the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club in Shepparton, the Fitzroy Stars Football Club; The Yuendumu Magpies and the Ganbina Program.