The traditional indigenous owners of land at the Daintree Rainforest are the Kuku Yalanji people. Their traditional bounds are the area between Port Douglas and Cooktown.

The Kuku Yalanji people, one of thousands of Aboriginal Australian tribes in the country, are believed to have inhabited the rainforest for more than 9000 years. Anthropological research shows there may have been three to five groups within the tribe, with the groups inhabiting rainforest areas, rivers, coastal frontages, and mountain peaks.

The Kuku Yalanji culture is very distinct and uniquely adapted to the Daintree Rainforest environment. The natural world around the people was understood to be linked closely to them – for example if an unseasonable weather pattern emerged this could be seen as a consequence for a human action. The rainforest was often described in human terms. Changes to the environment were interpreted as changes occurring to themselves. The rainforest was the source of all food, shelter, resources and other social structures.

Research shows that the Aborigines used the rainforest plants and trees to make material goods such as wooden shields and swords to defend themselves against rival tribes, woven baskets for carrying goods, and bark cloth as fish traps.

Traditionally they lived in small kinship groups of 8 to 12 in camps spread along the banks of the rivers and creeks. These camps were semi-permanent as the people lived in temporary dome thatched huts, which could be easily built and then discarded if weather conditions changed. For example, if a sudden downpour of rain threatened to raise river levels and flood a camp, the Kuku Yalanji could gather together their few belongings and move to a more suitable place where a new camp would be built quickly and simply.

Aboriginal history in the Daintree Rainforest, indeed most of Australia, was totally devoid of European interference for thousands of years. However, the discovery of gold in the Hodgkinson River in 1877 changed everything. Mineral explorations, tin mining and the development of a Palmerston trading road changed the lifestyle and culture the Kuku Yalanji had maintained. Violent clashes between the indigenous people and the European settlers often resulted in fatalities.

European authorities, at the time, rounded up the Aboriginal groups, usually resulting in removing the indigenous people from their traditional homelands and way of life and placing them in missions. In 1897 the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act was introduced. This was intended to preserve and protect the Kuku Yalanji people. However, like many attempts to ‘rescue’ indigenous people during this time, the legislation served only to reduce the human value of the Aboriginal people. Local Aboriginal groups from the Daintree Rainforest region were moved to the Mossman Gorge Reserve, which is still active today. The indigenous people were first moved there around the time of World War II.