Australian Alps Aboriginal Cultural and Spiritual Values Report Summary

Chris Johnston, Andrew Sneddon and Maddy Maitri for the Australian Alps Traditional Owner Reference Group and the Australian Alps Liaison Committee, June 2014

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The Australian Alps are a place of great cultural significance for the Australian Alps First Peoples. This project was designed to look at why the Alps are important to Aboriginal people – today and in the past. This summary describes the project aims and tasks, the consultations undertaken and the outcomes.

Background

This project was initiated by the Australian Alps Traditional Owner Reference Group (AATORG) and the Australian Alps Liaison Committee (AALC).

They were concerned that the National Heritage List (NHL) for the Australian Alps did not represent the range of values held by Aboriginal people who have traditional owner and historical associations with the Australian Alps.

In summary the National Heritage List focuses on “the Indigenous history of moth feasting as the basis for large‐scale gatherings of different Aboriginal groups for ceremonies”.