Indigenous connection to land as “mother”

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Country is not simply land; Country is honoured as a living mother, imbued with spiritual essence and far more than a mere landscape. It sustains life, nourishes communities, and shapes the deepest threads of cultural identity rather than acting as a mere backdrop for human endeavour.

Country is our first home and our first mother¹ and revered as a maternal presence, the nurturing, all-pervasive source of life, maternal bond and belonging². Country encompassing land, sea, waterways, sky, stars, and every living and nonliving being, is honored as a mother figure, nurturing intimate, holistic, locally rooted, and grounded in mutually sustaining relationships. 

The land holds growth, stories, traditions, and knowledge that have been passed down through generations. Country is woven into every facet of existence, community, identity, ceremony, law, storytelling, art, music, dance and ecological knowledge, binding people and place in deep, reciprocal relationships. 

Further to this, honouring Country as mother recognises that from the land comes our siblings³. That is, flora and fauna including food and  bush medicines, and also language which can be considered as the sharing of lifeblood given land is language, and language is land³.

However, like all relationships, they can be disrupted and broken. Colonisation disrupted the relationships Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had with mother. The maternal bonds were damaged, the displacement and severing of maternal ties including the  spiritual  maternal  deprivation and resultant spiritual homelessness¹ continues to impact the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples today.

Knowing this however means that we all have an active role in supporting healing. We know that returning to mother can heal. Critical importance is for communities to have access to land-based initiatives that empower self determination and connection.  This inseparability and connection to mother means that learning and sharing must happen on Country itself, where every word and action is nourished by ancestral soil. Ongoing land-based activities—ceremony, story, seasonal harvesting, will keep Indigenous knowing, being, and relationships rooted and resilient³.  By doing so, Country can offer far more than just physical relief or emotional uplift; it also nurtures deep spiritual, holistic, cultural, and ancestral bonds¹⁴, bonds as profound and unwavering as a mother’s love.

Being so central to Indigenous connection, this nurturing relationship places a huge responsibility on all of us to care for Country and to protect the resources that mother provides. This responsibility however doesn’t bring a sense of pressure or obligation. Just like a mother does, this responsibility is built from a position of love and dedication. Love and dedication that doesn’t expect reciprocity, that gives freely, nurtures, and is for the betterment of all others on the land. It is this connection to the land as mother that ensures Country is protected and cared for for future generations, and society can live harmoniously, sustainably, and be well physically, emotionally and spiritually.

In a modern world defined by relentless consumerism and the pressure to conform, Country stands as the ever-present mother, her red earth arms cradling our spirits. In her sacred embrace, where ancient rivers whisper and wind-sculpted hills breathe life, Country offers a place to turn to where we find the safety, solace, healing and belonging that no cityscape or marketplace can ever provide. It is here, nurtured by her timeless generosity, that we remember who we are and rediscover the warmth only a mother’s love can offer. And that is the Indigenous connection to land as Mother.