Organisers of a dance party, billed as a "traditional Aussie bush doof", have been forced to change the event's name after a backlash on social media.

The Lets Go Walkabout festival was accused of appropriating from Indigenous culture, and has had to change its name to Lets Go Walkaround.

The organiser of the psychedelic dance party, Leigh Weller, said he was surprised to find himself at the centre of a fierce debate about cultural appropriation.

"We're a borderline hippy group that want to go out and listen to music," he said.

Indigenous people like Maria Clague said the use of the term "walkabout" is disrespectful and ignorant.

"Everyone does this — environmental NGOs do this, social justice organisations do this, restaurants do this," she said.

"They'll sit there, use boomerang as their title, without having any significance or relation to Aboriginal people whatsoever."

Ms Clague said "walkabout" is an important part of Aboriginal culture and its use to promote a dance party is wildly inappropriate.

"You're talking about Walkabout, you're talking about our initiation rites, our rite to become a woman or a man," she said.

"To use that name for that sort of event is completely disrespectful and shows ignorance to what that means to every Aboriginal person."

Ms Clague has also taken aim at the four-day music and arts festival Rainbow Serpent in Western Victoria.

"Again using our culture and our beliefs in the title for a party, it becomes a huge problem and it offends Aboriginal people all over the country, so [the organisers] are going to start getting pulled up on this stuff."

'It's no different to people ripping off Aboriginal artists'

As news of the Lets Go Walkabout event spread, angry comments piled up on Facebook.

Some took issue with the name, while others were offended by the use of Indigenous-inspired art in the festival's promotional material.

Many of the comments have now been deleted by the event organisers.

Comments included: "Being HEAPS confused abt cultural appropriation and how calling a weekend to go eat drugs 'lets go walkabout' is disrespectful to Aboriginal."

Professor Jakelin Troy, the director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the University of Sydney, said people are now more aware of cultural appropriation than ever.

"The great thing about social media is people get found out and then there's criticism," she said.

"I think now people need to realise too they are actually skating on thin ice in terms of being sued.

"It's no different to people ripping off Aboriginal artists and putting their work on cheap carpets made in Indonesia and the artists get nothing for it.

"That's not OK in other intellectual property discussions, it would not be OK for somebody to go and copy a Chanel design, even very loosely, and not pay royalties to Chanel for example."

Organiser's aim to be 'welcoming'

Mr Weller said he was just trying to be inclusive.

"[I'm] completely shocked at how a misinterpretation of a single word can get to such broad statements of racism," he said.

"Our intention with the name was actually to move away from the typical, I would call 'bogan' Australia Day celebration that happens in the city.

"Loosely using an English word 'walkabout' to say let's go walkabout together, welcome all, everyone.

"Not creating any separation between the types at all."

"Our intention was an invitation."

Professor Troy said there are ways Aboriginal culture can be incorporated without causing offence, pointing to an event in Sydney of New Year's Eve where Aboriginal language was projected onto the Harbour Bridge.

But she said the difference is permission.

"That was all negotiated with the people who are the owners of the language," Professor Troy said.

"So Australia is moving more and more into that space but there are still a whole lot of people who think you can just go and take, keep taking, without giving anything back, without even acknowledging."

The Lets Go Walkaround event is scheduled to go ahead in bushland west of Sydney the weekend before Australia Day.