The Ngambri people have accepted an apology from the ACT for the hurt and distress caused by failing to recognize them as Traditional Custodians of the land under their two-decade-old Indigenous Protocol.
The protocol acknowledges the Ngunnawal people as the Traditional Custodians.
Ngambri people Paul Girrawah House and Leah House took the ACT government to court in a bid to be recognised and a settlement was announced on Thursday ahead of hearings scheduled for next week.
The ACT will continue to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners but also recognise there are other people and families who also claim a traditional connection to the land.
This will initially occur through a slight change in the wording of Acknowledgments to Country.
An interim protocol will be put in place over the next fortnight before a comprehensive review is conducted.
Speaking to NITV, Mr House said that was a good start and there's "no going back from here."
"This is a really important turning point in the history of the ACT because Aboriginal peoples, including the Ngunnawal and Ngarigo are able to assert, and others are able to assert their rights under the declaration [UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples]," he said.
"Our actions were never intended to displace or discriminate against anyone else who also claimed traditional connections to the land ... and we look forward to working constructively with all peoples on a journey of healing ahead of the settlement."
Repairing the damage
Mr House's comments come after ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr apologised in a statement.
"The territory apologises to the plaintiffs, their witnesses, and other members of the Ngambri (Kamberri) community for the hurt and distress which they have suffered," he said.
Mr House accepted Mr Barr's words.
It's a very important step in the long journey ahead for all of us to repair the damage of colonisation.
The ACT Indigenous Affairs Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the territory recognised the right of Aboriginal people to self-determination.
"And we recognise there is re-emerging knowledge about the history and connections to this land," she told ABC radio on Thursday.
"It's important to say it has always been the case that we have recognised the Houses as having a traditional connection to this land."
Ms Stephen-Smith said it would form part of the wider process and conversation that needs to be had on moving forward on the path to treaty.
Time to show respect
Mr House said it's time governments came on the journey of truth-telling and showed respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
"The evidence of our prominence, identity and connection to Country is powerful and compelling, and we invite governments to embrace our stories and our connection based on oral history, but also the historical records of the evidence," he said.
"The name Canberra is derived from the name of our people on Country, the Ngambri/Kamberri. The government should embrace the truth-telling around that story."
- With AAP
