This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards.(December 2019) |
![]() | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Total population | |
---|---|
517,000, 2.5% of Australia's population (in 2006) [1] [2] | |
Languages | |
Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol | |
Religion | |
Majority Christianity, with minority following traditional animist (Dreamtime) beliefs. | |
Related ethnic groups | |
see List of Indigenous Australian group names |
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Torres Strait Islanders are Indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northernmost tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea. The term "Aboriginal" has traditionally been applied to Indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some of the other adjacent islands. Since the colonisation of Australia in 1788, Indigenous Australians have been segregated from European Australians both in their rights and socially within society. The 'firsts' listed in this article contain historical steps that have changed this initial racist segregation both legally and culturally.
Contents |
---|
18th century |
First time First Nations children were forcibly removed from their families as a result of government policies. Now known as the "Stolen Generation".
...the earliest record that we could find was the PhD awarded to Dr Bill Jonas in 1980 by the University of Papua New Guinea... we estimate that approximately 25 Indigenous people were awarded their doctorate [during the 1980s]