Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy says she was dumped from giving a Welcome to Country at former US president Barack Obama’s Melbourne show by tour organisers and told she was too difficult.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation said Growth Faculty, the organisers of Obama’s Wednesday night event, had caused “deep offence to the Wurundjeri people and to all First Nations people” after Murphy was dropped from the event.
She was then told she was being “too difficult” and was removed from proceedings, her representatives said.attempted to contact Growth Faculty for a response to the allegations, which have not been independently verified. “I do not want this to be a reflection on president Obama. I am a leader of the Wurundjeri Nation. I asked to be treated as an equal.”Murphy has also been removed from giving traditional cultural protocols at a business lunch with Obama on Thursday, her representatives said.
“The Welcome to Country is a very important ceremony for our people. It is an honour to welcome people like president Obama, and I’m upset that I am unable to do this today,” Murphy said.
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