The Indigenous Peoples of Australia

What does Indigenous mean?

More than 370 million people across 70 countries worldwide identify as Indigenous. They
belong to more than 5,000 different groups, and speak more than 4,000 languages.
Indigenous Peoples have their own unique customs and cultures.

The term ‘Indigenous’ means that a person’s ancestors lived on particular lands, before
new people arrived and became dominant. They often took their land away, and treated
them as second-class citizens.

Who are the Indigenous Peoples of Australia?

They are the proud keepers of the oldest cultures on the planet. Their folklore includes
communities with their own mixture of cultures, customs and languages.

Is it OK to call Indigenous Australians ‘Aborigines’?

No. The word ‘Aborigine’ has a racist meaning from the colonial past. It is more sensitive
to say ‘Aboriginal person ‘or ‘Aboriginal’.

Indigenous Australians before the Europeans

They were great storytellers, passing on their culture through songs, stories, paintings and
dance. They were also expert hunters and gatherers and took good care of the land. They
moved around with the seasons, returning to permanent homes where they grew crops.

Then the Europeans came…

When European colonization started in 1788, it was devastating for Australia’s Indigenous
communities. In only 100 years their numbers fell from around 750,000 to just 93,000.
Thousands died as British settlers took their land away, and brought diseases such as
measles, smallpox and tuberculosis. Indigenous Australians were isolated from the rest of
society, forced to adopt British customs and abandon their own culture.

The population began to recover in the early 1900s and by 2011, three per cent of the
country’s population were Aboriginal people.

What’s the situation like now?

Racial discrimination became illegal in Australia in 1976, but Aboriginal are still
mistreated in terms of health, education and unemployment. Many are poor and turn to
crime.

How do Indigenous Australians fight for their rights?

They continue to protest for things to change. They use slogans like “We want land rights”.
January 26th is declared a Day of Mourning to mark 150 years since colonization. It
attracted national support and in 2000, more than 300,000 people from all backgrounds
walked across Sydney calling for justice. In 2015, people all across Australia protested to
support Aboriginal communities to live on their traditional lands.

August 9th is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Thank you for listening!

Source:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/08/why-saying-aborigine-isnt-ok-8-
facts-about-indigenous-people-in-australia/