Different approaches have been taken by non-Aboriginal scholars in trying to understand and define Aboriginal culture and societies, some focussing on the micro-level (tribe, clan, etc.

© Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2020.
[8], In a 2001 study, blood samples were collected from some Warlpiri people in the Northern Territory, to study their genetic makeup (which is not representative of all Aboriginal peoples in Australia).

The artwork, painted on the corner of Foveaux and Crown streets, was commissioned by the building's owner and depicts a candid portrait of the former Sydney Swans star.

The study concluded that the Warlpiri are descended from ancient Asians whose DNA is still somewhat present in Southeastern Asian groups, although greatly diminished.

[12], The Rasmussen study also found evidence that Aboriginal peoples carry some of the genes associated with the Denisovans (a species of human related to but distinct from Neanderthals) of Asia; the study suggests that there is an increase in allele sharing between the Denisovan and Aboriginal Australian genomes, compared to other Eurasians and to Africans.


The term “Stolen Generations” refers to members of the Indigenous community who were affected by a government policy that began in the 1800s and ended in the 1970s.

The family of an Indigenous woman who died in police custody have spoken out after the suspension of an assistant watchhouse officer. An Aboriginal prisoner who died in Western Australia had suffered health problems, as Premier Mark McGowan urged Black Lives Matter protesters to abide by COVID-19 rules. As of 2016, only 13 traditional Indigenous languages were still being acquired by children,[32] and about another 100 spoken by older generations only. While this can be practical, it is important to recognise why some people take issue with this approach. They also practiced rock art, bark painting, ball games, and weapon games among others. The second group, Torres Strait Islanders are relatives of the Papuan people found in New Guinea although Australia normally includes them as Aboriginals.

Breathtaking isles and incredibly diverse marine life have drawn holidaymakers and avid divers to Western Australia's Dampier Archipelago for generations, but now a team of researchers have uncovered an even rarer find. The term Indigenous or Aboriginal Australians refers to two major groups of people who were the original inhabitants of the island of Australia and surrounding areas. The Australian Government has 3 criteria for determining whether a person is Indigenous.

[16] The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those Indian genes to Aboriginal Australians, or that a group of Indians migrated all the way from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly.

The following quotes from Indigenous people express what it means to them to be an Indigenous person living in Australia. Reconciliation Australia, Reconciliation Barometer 2014, 2. Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt is working towards a referendum on constitution recognition of the nation's first peoples in this term of parliament. So first things first, who are Indigenous Australians? This article incorporates text by Anders Bergström et al. These communities include the Murrawarri, Koori (Koorie), Ngunnawal, Goorie, Murrdi, Murri, Nyungar, Yamatji, Wangai, Nunga, Anangu, Yapa, Arrernte, Yolngu, Bininj, Tiwi, Anindilyakwa, and Palawah who numbered close to 750,000 at the time of the first European settlements. Watch the controversial new event series The Comey Rule now on Stan. See Profile of Indigenous Australians. [4]. AIHW reports and other products include information about Indigenous Australians, where data quality permits. Aboriginal Australians, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of health and economic deprivations in comparison with the wider Australian community.

[24][25][26][27], In the 2016 Australian Census, Indigenous Australians comprised 3.3% of Australia's population, with 91% of these identifying as Aboriginal only, 5% Torres Strait Islander, and 4% both. Repercussions from this traumatic shared history are still felt in Indigenous communities today. In the past, Aboriginal Australians lived over large sections of the continental shelf and were isolated on many of the smaller offshore islands and Tasmania when the land was inundated at the start of the Holocene inter-glacial period, about 11,700 years ago. Employment Your web browser is no longer supported.

Indigenous Australians are descended from the people who lived in Australia and the surrounding islands prior to European colonisation. The move comes after Kakadu's board of management pushed a no-confidence motion against federal managers. Upheaval in the Queensland town of Aurukun has been so violent about 300 people have left and the state government is sending in disaster response experts.

Australian Museum, Introduction to Indigenous Australia, 3. Russell Island is home to more than 3000 Queenslanders, many of whom do not believe the name needs to be changed. Australia’s welfare 2019 is the 14th biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Data and information on suicide and self-harm in Australia, Australia’s national hospital reporting platform, The latest on Australia’s health and health system performance.

[52][53][54], Indigenous communities in remote Australia are often small, isolated towns with basic facilities, on traditionally-owned land. Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Australia in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest Aboriginal deaths in custody. A 2007 report by the CSIRO stressed the importance of taking a demand-driven approach to services in desert settlements, and concluded that "if top-down solutions continue to be imposed without appreciating the fundamental drivers of settlement in desert regions, then those solutions will continue to be partial, and ineffective in the long term".[55].

Aboriginal Australians have shorter life spans and higher rates of imprisonment than other citizens. “Our culture connects with the land, with our kinships. [5], Studies regarding the genetic makeup of Aboriginal groups are still ongoing, but evidence has suggested that they have genetic inheritance from ancient Asian but not more modern peoples, share some similarities with Papuans, but have been isolated from Southeast Asia for a very long time. A coroner has recommended no criminal charges be laid against officers after an indigenous man died while in custody. [8], In a 2011 genetic study by Morten Rasmussen et al., researchers took a DNA sample from an early-20th-century lock of an Aboriginal person's hair.

The long-term viability and resilience of Aboriginal communities in desert areas has been discussed by scholars and policy-makers.

The Northern Territory's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has announced he will step aside from investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death in custody of an indigenous teenager in Yuendumu. The small Western Australian police station located in Warakurna – which is 1000 kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie – has taken a unique approach to law enforcement. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.

They found that the ancestors of the Aboriginal Australian population split off from other Eurasians between 62,000 and 75,000 BP, whereas the European and Asian populations split only 25,000 to 38,000 years BP, indicating an extended period of Aboriginal genetic isolation. Today, only around 145 Indigenous nations remain, most of which are endangered. Learn more about how the AIHW is assisting the COVID-19 response and how our other work is affected. They were used mostly on the initiation ground for the instruction of novices. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. Maybe the history books? The disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. There is no denying that.

For more than a decade the Aboriginal flag has flown high and proud during the AFL's Indigenous Round. Indigenous Australians were not granted the right to vote until 1962. In Australia, ‘ Indigenous ’ has become a popular, catch-all term to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

"Indigenous Australians are concerned that there seems to be no respect for their cultural knowledge, stories and other expressions on the wider Australian landscape," the guide states.

A replica of Captain Cook's ship HMS Endeavour has been banned from docking at a New Zealand village after Maori leaders slammed the famous explorer as a "barbarian".

Before extensive European settlement, there were over 250 Aboriginal languages.