Reconciliation Week will culminate in the Indigenous Round clash against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
One of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performers, artists, musicians and writers Richard Walley, conducted the smoking ceremony.
The ceremony involved the burning of eucalyptus tree leaves which players and staff walking through the smoke to rid their bodies of that which is not needed.
The smoke is also used to cleanse the surrounding area.
Walley, who designed the club’s Indigenous jumper with Roger Hayden, said the AFL was leading the way in bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
“I think what the club is doing is fantastic, and it explains that anything you do with Aboriginal people reflects the greater community,” Walley said.
“There are a lot footballers who are non-Aboriginal whose parents were taken away from their lands, like England and other parts of the world.
“They came out here and suffered the same fate.
“In our culture we don’t think about things being exclusive, we think about things being inclusive, so when we talk about Sorry Day we won’t just talk about Indigenous mothers losing their children, we talk about all mothers losing their children in some way shape or form.
“It brings us together as people rather than separate us as races.”
Walley said the most important thing was people being able to relate to being confronted by trauma.
“We have people here who served in the Vietnam War, and people here from Somalia who have been through the same type of things,” he said.
“Australia I think, and in particular the football club, represents a community.
“I think it’s explaining a social consciousness and I think that’s a very healthy thing.”
