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Welcome to the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

The Federation is the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owners while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

About Us

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we work on as the First Peoples of this Country.

Country

Healthy Country means healthy communities. Our work recognises Traditional Owners’ rights and responsibilities to care and make decisions for Country.

Traditional Owner groups have knowledge, rights and responsibilities, stemming from 65,000 years of experience on Country. The Federation works in the following areas to embed Traditional Owner voices in management of Country.

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Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture, people and place.

The Federation’s work recognises Traditional Owner groups as authoritative decision-makers with rights and power. Our advocacy, programs and services enable Traditional Owners to get on with the business of caring for Country, culture and community.

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Impact

The Federation’s advocacy shapes the landscape in which Victorian Traditional Owner corporations do their important work.

We have put cultural fire and cultural water on the agenda for government, sought greater protections for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, fought for a fair place in the expanding native foods and botanicals industry, championed treaty and self-determination, supported a drastic reconsideration of how our cultural heritage is approached at both state and national levels, and worked to have economic development considered as more than just small business grants.

 

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About

The Federation is the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owner groups while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

We support the progress of agreement-making and participation in decision-making to enhance the authority of Traditional Owner Corporations on behalf of their communities.

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Resources

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Yoorrook Justice Commission’s report is the first of its kind in Australia and will be delivered by an historic walk from Portland to Parliament.

From 25 May to 18 June, Yoorrook Deputy Chair Travis Lovett will walk from the place colonisation began to the house where truth can transform the future. 

Everyone is invited to join the journey, which aims to bring everyone together to walk toward truth, celebrate the strength and resistance of Aboriginal people, and be proud to have the oldest living culture in the world as ours.  

The Federation team will be joining the walk, and hope to see you there.

LEARN MORE | yoorrook.org.au/walkfortruth

Yoorrook Justice Commission’s report is the first of its kind in Australia and will be delivered by an historic walk from Portland to Parliament.

From 25 May to 18 June, Yoorrook Deputy Chair Travis Lovett will walk from the place colonisation began to the house where truth can transform the future.

Everyone is invited to join the journey, which aims to bring everyone together to walk toward truth, celebrate the strength and resistance of Aboriginal people, and be proud to have the oldest living culture in the world as ours.

The Federation team will be joining the walk, and hope to see you there.

LEARN MORE | yoorrook.org.au/walkfortruth
... See MoreSee Less

We all understand it’s not okay to climb on Uluru.

Country all over Australia deserves the same care and respect.

Places like Dyurrite, Gariwerd, Budj Bim and more house tens of thousands of years of deep spiritual connection, ancient artefacts of national significance, and are vibrant living examples of Traditional Owners’ continuing cultural practice and care for Country – an enduring, unbroken line stretching back sixty-five thousand years and continuing today. Incredible.

Members of every Australian community benefit from the careful custodianship of Country from Traditional Owner groups, and must continue to listen to what Traditional Owners say about their Country and cultural heritage.

There’s grubby media commentary floating around that we won’t dignify with a specific response, but a reminder: Traditional Owners have obligations to care for Country, and the wider community’s listening and support helps enable this care to continue.

We all understand it’s not okay to climb on Uluru.

Country all over Australia deserves the same care and respect.

Places like Dyurrite, Gariwerd, Budj Bim and more house tens of thousands of years of deep spiritual connection, ancient artefacts of national significance, and are vibrant living examples of Traditional Owners’ continuing cultural practice and care for Country – an enduring, unbroken line stretching back sixty-five thousand years and continuing today. Incredible.

Members of every Australian community benefit from the careful custodianship of Country from Traditional Owner groups, and must continue to listen to what Traditional Owners say about their Country and cultural heritage.

There’s grubby media commentary floating around that we won’t dignify with a specific response, but a reminder: Traditional Owners have obligations to care for Country, and the wider community’s listening and support helps enable this care to continue.
... See MoreSee Less

It was great to have Treaty Authority members Duean White and Andrew Jackomos join our Traditional Owner economic development summit last week – thank you for coming!

It was great to have Treaty Authority members Duean White and Andrew Jackomos join our Traditional Owner economic development summit last week – thank you for coming! ... See MoreSee Less

Quandong ice cream, macadamia oil moisturiser, kangaroo grass bicycle baskets – if you’ve got an idea for a product using native plants, consider the CSIRO’s upcoming workshop.

Victorian Indigenous businesses, Traditional Owners and community representatives are invited to a free workshop on 14 May, hosted by the CSIRO, exploring pathways to ethically commercialise traditional knowledge relating to native plants and botanicals.

The six-hour workshop will feature presentations, a panel, and a tour of CSIRO’s research and development facility. We’re registered, and particularly excited to hear from Neane Carter, a senior solicitor at Terri Janke and Company Pty Ltd – the firm leading the way in thinking about Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights (they spoke at out native foods conference in November!). 

Traditional Owners have collective rights in native plant knowledge and use, and work that clears the way to ethical commercial production that centres Traditional Owner groups rights is great news to us.

LEARN MORE | bit.ly/4hOrwv6

Quandong ice cream, macadamia oil moisturiser, kangaroo grass bicycle baskets – if you’ve got an idea for a product using native plants, consider the CSIRO’s upcoming workshop.

Victorian Indigenous businesses, Traditional Owners and community representatives are invited to a free workshop on 14 May, hosted by the CSIRO, exploring pathways to ethically commercialise traditional knowledge relating to native plants and botanicals.

The six-hour workshop will feature presentations, a panel, and a tour of CSIRO’s research and development facility. We’re registered, and particularly excited to hear from Neane Carter, a senior solicitor at Terri Janke and Company Pty Ltd – the firm leading the way in thinking about Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights (they spoke at out native foods conference in November!).

Traditional Owners have collective rights in native plant knowledge and use, and work that clears the way to ethical commercial production that centres Traditional Owner groups' rights is great news to us.

LEARN MORE | bit.ly/4hOrwv6
... See MoreSee Less

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