Officials at the Ovens and Murray are determined to lead the way as a positive force for change in society ahead of the league's inaugural Indigenous Round this weekend.
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Tuesday's launch saw clubs come together for a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony in QEII Square before being treated to a series of traditional dances.
Dean Heta, the former Albury and Wodonga Raiders footballer, was hailed as the "pioneer" who initially set the ball rolling for a league-wide celebration of the region's diversity and Indigenous culture.
"It's a momentous day in our history," Ovens and Murray general manager Craig Millar said.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get emotional about what our league and our clubs are trying to achieve - but today is just the start.
"Hopefully we can influence our clubs, who play a huge part in their own communities, to stimulate conversations and education around culture.
"It's important that we take the lead on this.
"We are a big influencer in our region, we understand that we have a voice, and I feel like we have a great opportunity to influence people and to share knowledge and empower clubs to make decisions that form more inclusive environments.
"We're very lucky and we won't take for granted the opportunity we've been afforded."
Five clubs will wear Indigenous football jumpers this weekend and eight netball sides will take the court in custom-made bibs designed by local Indigenous artist John Murray.
Murray and Heta, who travelled up from Melbourne to attend the launch, worked closely with the league over the past 12 months to make the round a reality.
"We are here now because of the work the Ovens and Murray have done along with John," Heta said.
"I hope this continues, I hope more clubs get on board and we've got to continue to learn and understand who our First Nations people are and try to tap into our community.
"The Ovens and Murray is the pinnacle of country footy so to have more Indigenous players play here and hopefully go on to represent the Ovens and Murray at a higher level would be huge.
"I want to see more Aboriginal men and women playing in this league and more clubs being more welcoming to our Aboriginal communities."
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Millar described the launch as a "powerful" event.
"It's about diversity in our community," Millar said.
"We're more diverse now than ever and it's important our clubs embrace that.
"We'd like to attract more Indigenous players and people from other diverse cultures and today is about saying we are an inclusive competition."
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