The ACT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister says she has reassured Ngunnawal people they would still be explicitly recognised as traditional custodians in the territory.
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Rachel Stephen-Smith acknowledged "really strong emotions" had been expressed at a meeting between the ACT government and Ngunnawal custodians last week, and "misinformation" had circulated about changes to the ACT's Indigenous protocol.
"It would be good to reach a resolution that needs to be led by the traditional custodians. And we were very clear that we don't believe it is the role of government to determine how you describe traditional custodians of any particular space," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The government settled a matter in the Supreme Court brought by Paul House, who had claimed Ngambri people's human rights had been breached by the ACT's refusal to acknowledge their traditional custodianship.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the meeting was a good opportunity to explain the court process and why the government had reached a settlement.
"I was able to reassure, along with the Attorney-General and [Rebecca Vassarotti] that we do continue to explicitly recognise the Ngunnawal as traditional custodians of this land," she said.
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The minister said a resolution on the issue of how traditional custodians are recognised in the ACT should come from individuals and families coming together to reach agreement.
"We're talking about people's identity here. So emotions have been running high for quite some time even before we reached the settlement with the Houses on this particular legal matter," she said.
Ngunnawal custodians earlier this month said the settlement between Ngambri custodians and the ACT government, which is set to recast the territory's engagement with traditional owners, was an affront to Ngunnawal custodianship.
"Self-identification must not be misconstrued for, nor is it the intent of, self-determination. We understand and respect the right to self-determination, but this should not supersede traditional custodianship," the Ngunnawal statement said.
The ACT government committed to a comprehensive review of its Indigenous protocol as part of the court settlement, which up to now had only recognised Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the lands comprising the territory.
The government also apologised to Ngambri custodians for the "hurt and distress" caused by its long-term refusal to accept their claim to traditional ownership.
The ACT government formally recognised the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners of the Canberra area in August 2009, following a request from the United Ngunnawal Elders Council.
"The ACT government's adoption of the use of the term 'Ngunnawal' to identify the traditional custodians of the ACT was based on advice from a special meeting of Ngunnawal community members in May 2002," the protocol adopted at the time said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
