The federal committee, which will host hearings in Wodonga today, have received a submission from Wangaratta local Tony Lane about the lacking formal recognition of the Bangerang-Pangerang people.

For the second time the group’s bid to become a registered Aboriginal party was knocked back by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council in 2016.

“Going back about eight years, groups could start to be recognised as a registered party, but they denied Bangerang that recognition despite evidence,” Mr Lane said.

“They’ve given recognition to the Yorta Yorta, which are a related group coming more from the Shepparton area.

“Where that really causes a problem is that then filters through the state government information and signs go up in state parks saying ‘you’re on Yorta Yorta country’, or the Bangerang are sitting in the audience when the Yorta Yorta to the welcome to country.”

Mr Lane, whose submission is yet to be published, said while this issue was relevant to Victoria he believed it was important the federal committee be made aware.

“They need to do something at the national level, and essentially my statement was to say that they can’t just borrow the state arrangements, because in our patch they’re faulty and don’t give proper recognition,” he said.

Indi votes: Uncle Freddie Dowling’s fight to preserve Pangerang Aboriginal history

“In 2016 there was a question in parliament from Euroa MP Steph Ryan to the minister for Aboriginal Affairs Natalie Hutchins, and Hutchins aid ‘Yes we understand the Bangerang are the traditional owners, however this other process has given recognition to the Yorta Yorta, and we can’t control that’.”

Ms Ryan said; “The land of the Bangerang runs from the Great Dividing Range in the south to Waddi in New South Wales and from Chiltern in the east to Echuca in the west”.

“I sat down with Uncle Freddie Dowling, who showed me early maps where the lands of the Bangerang are clearly recorded.

“Uncle Freddie believes there is a lack of understanding about the Bangerangs’ history and that irrefutable evidence is being ignored”.

Ms Hutchins replied that the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, who appointed registered Aboriginal parties, “does not decide who the traditional owners of an area are, which is a much broader matter”.

“The Victorian Government and the Council both recognise the Bangerang as traditional owners of the area in question, however, the Council have made a decision not to appoint the Bangerang as a RAP for the area at this point in time – this is an important distinction.”

Mr Lane said elders who have been integral to the fight for recognition have passed away recently and it was important their plight be respected.

“Locally there’s many people who know what the truth is and they want it out there, not just to get the history right but to support these individuals now,” he said.

Canada’s action of recognising its Indigenous people in its Constitution and engaging with them through an Assembly of First Nations are among the examples Australia should work to, the Joint Select Committee for Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples has heard.

The committee’s interim report was published in July, building from the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which calls for a voice that will empower Indigenous peoples to shape legislation.

A number of submissions outlined that enshrining that body in the constitution would “provide a guarantee that the voices of First Nations people in communities will be heard by Parliament”.

What that body might look like and the most appropriate means for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people are among the questions the committee is now asking in public hearings.

Local leaders will voice their thoughts at a hearing in Wodonga today.

The committee members include Indi MP Cathy McGowan and NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, and Ms McGowan referenced Ms McCarthy’s address at the Kerferd Oration when speaking about their work on the committee in August.

“I don’t think I could even begin to explain the feeling in the room of support (at the Oration) for what we as a nation are trying to do with this committee,” she said.

“I know in my community there is an enormous interest in truth-telling and how it works both informally and formally.”

“In Australia, we often talk about what happened in South Africa after apartheid and the truth-telling commission that was set up there. 

“So there are some really useful examples that we might be able to look at.”