Ngunnawal dancers performed a smoking ceremony at the opening of
the new AIATSIS premises on Acton Peninsula (2001).
Ngunnawal People
AIATSIS recognises the Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the Canberra area. The following information is taken from the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia which was published by the Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS in 1994:
The Ngunnawal are the people of the southeast region north of Canberra, neighbours of the Gundungurra, Yuin, Ngarigo and Wiradjuri peoples. Graziers began moving into the area in the 1820s. In 1826, one thousand Aboriginal people gathered at Lake George in 1826 to protest and avenge an act by shepherds against Aboriginal women but moved away peacefully. Eventually, Ngunnawal people began to work on the stations.