Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board recognises and celebrates NAIDOC Week

July 8-15, 2018 is NAIDOC Week, an annual celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. This week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

This year's theme celebrates the essential role that women have played - and continue to play - as active and significant role models at the community, local, state and national levels. 

We'd like to acknowledge Mt Hotham's indigenous history, a rich and important part of our story. Many thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, Aboriginal people gathered in large numbers in the high country, particularly during the spring and summer months.

Though the history of contact is poorly recorded, it is known that the principal language groups in the Mt Hotham region included the Gunaikurnai, Dhudoroa and the Jaitmathang. In October 2010, the Gunaikurnai people were recognised by the Federal Court as the native title holders over certain lands within the Resort.

In 2012, an Indigenous Land Use Agreement was signed with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLAWAC) under the Federal Native Title Act to establish an amicable legal arrangement for recognising public works within the Resort in a way that also preserves native title.

Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board welcomes the growing, positive relationship we share with the Gunaikurnai people and we look forward to continuing to work with GLAWAC to increase the Mt Hotham community's understanding and appreciation of the indigenous history of Mt Hotham.

ABC Open has a wonderful feature by Suzanne Taylor about 'a dynamic group of women who are reviving the Gunaikurnai language throughout East Gippsland in Victoria: Lynnette Solomon-Dent, Dr Doris Paton, and Hollie Johnson'. You can read the story and view the video here: https://open.abc.net.au/explore/24264 

For more information on NAIDOC Week activities and events, please check the NAIDOC Week website.