The treaty, signed more than 220 years after the country became a colony, created a parliament and truth-telling body.

The first treaty between Australia’s Aboriginal people and the government has become law in the state of Victoria after it was finalized and signed.

Members of the state’s First People’s Assembly gathered Wednesday night for a ceremony to sign the document, followed by Gov. Margaret Gardner’s signature on the treaty Thursday morning.

Jill Gallagher, a Gunditjmara woman and former member of the Victorian Treaty Advancement Committee, told the ABC the treaty represented “the story of Aboriginal resistance”.

“I’m very happy. I’m ecstatic,” Gallagher said.

“Today marks a turning point in our nation’s history, a moment when old wounds can begin to heal and new relationships can be built on truth, justice and mutual respect,” she said.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allen said the signing of the treaty marked a “new chapter” in the state’s history.

“This is a chapter grounded in truth, guided by respect, and carried forward through partnership… a partnership designed to build a stronger, fairer and more equal Victoria for everyone,” Mr Allen said.

Australia was colonized by what was then the British Empire in 1788, with the first settlers arriving in what is now Victoria in the early 1800s.

Although the British powers had treaties with Aboriginal peoples in other colonial countries such as Canada, New Zealand and the United States, Australia never signed any treaties.

The treaty, described as historic by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, formalized the establishment of the permanent First People’s Assembly of Victoria.

Turk said the treaty “addresses the ongoing exclusion and discrimination against the country’s indigenous peoples resulting from colonization.”

He added that the agreement “has the potential to deliver real change, ensuring that Aboriginal people have a direct say in advising and shaping the laws, policies and practices that impact their lives”.

The treaty process began in 2016 and included the Yoorrook Justice Commission, a formal truth-telling body that concluded in June this year, hearing from Aboriginal people harmed by colonial rule, including members of the Stolen Generations who were removed from their families and communities by state agencies and religious organizations.

Australia holds a referendum in 2023 seeking to amend the constitution and establish a permanent Aboriginal voice to inform Parliament on issues related to Aboriginal people.

The referendum failed to garner enough support to amend the constitution.

The referendum follows the 2017 Uluru Voice petition, which called for Aboriginal voices to be given to Parliament and highlighted the 60,000-year ancestral connection Aboriginal people have with their land. The statement said this “sacred connection” could not be erased from world history in “just” 200 years.