The Eastern Maar people are a group of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar, including Eastern

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria in Australia. They are the Traditional Owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. ...

, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch ( Tooram Tribe) people. The word "Maar" means "the people". The Eastern Maar people are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC), a

Registered Native Title Body Corporate A Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) is a corporation nominated by a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people for the purposes of native title in Australia, to represent their native title rights and interests, once t ...

(RNTBC). In July 2011 the Eastern Maar and Gunditjmara peoples were recognised as the native title holders for an area in south-west Victoria between the Shaw and Eumeralla Rivers, and from Yambuk in the south, to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. EMAC is negotiating a Recognition and Settlement Agreement with the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

for the area of Stawell south-west of Horsham and Ararat roads. The boundary of the agreement is under negotiation.

References

{{reflist Aboriginal land councils Indigenous Australians in Victoria (state)