No. 7 
Budget funds study to trace Aboriginal family histories

A study to trace local Aboriginal family histories in the ACT region and produce, for the first time, formal genealogies for these families has been funded in the 2010‑11 ACT Budget, Chief Minister and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Jon Stanhope, said today.

Mr Stanhope said the Government would invest $100,000 to research and compile formal genealogies of each of the acknowledged families of Traditional Owners in the ACT.

“Traditional Owners have told the Government that they want our help to trace and tell their own histories,” Mr Stanhope said.

“This funding will provide a tangible account of local Aboriginal family histories, identities, and connections to the ACT.

“For the first time, Aboriginal people who are Indigenous to this region will have access to a formal genealogy to trace their own histories.”

Mr Stanhope said the information gleaned from the study would also be of significance to future generations of Indigenous Canberrans so they can better understand the presence of their families in the region.

Following the appointment of the study’s co-ordinator, the Indigenous community will be closely consulted throughout the study.

“The ACT Government will continue to work in partnership with the ACT’s Indigenous community to promote social inclusion and inform Government policies that affect the lives of Indigenous Canberrans.”

4 May 2010
Media Contact:		Jess Wurf	6205 0504 (w)	0411 722 700 (m)
			jess.wurf@act.gov.au