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Aboriginal partnerships

Aboriginal people have lived in South Australia for at least 44,000 years. Many of South Australia's national parks contain sites of significance for Aboriginal communities. These sites include rock engravings and artwork as well as archaeological material - examples can be found in nearly all our mainland parks from the Far North to the South East - from Witjira National Park to Canunda National Park.

For Aboriginal people, land and waters have many interconnected and complex meanings and values and are central to all aspects of people's lives. Ancestral Stories is the term used to describe the combination of these aspects of life, mythology, law and history. An area of land or water that an Aboriginal person has traditional association with is commonly referred to as 'Country'.

'Country' has many meanings and is integral to the Ancestral Stories. Parks are significant places for Aboriginal people and many areas in parks have Ancestral Stories associated with them.

We recognise that Ancestral Stories belong to Aboriginal people and must be respected.