AUSTRALIAN

ABORIGINAL
PEOPLE AND

PRIOR TO

1788

Before the arrival of foreigners (1788), Aboriginal people inhabited

the whole of Australia and Torres Strait Islands. They lived in
Australia and on the islands between Australian and Papua New
Guinea.
There are many different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities whose people speak different languages who have
different cultural beliefs, practices and traditions.
There were approximately 700 languages spoken throughout
Australia with an estimated population of 750 000 people.

CULTURAL SPIRITUALITY
Land

is fundamental to the wellbeing of

Aboriginal people. The land is not just
soil or rocks or minerals, but a whole
environment that sustains and is
sustained by people and culture.
For Indigenous Australians, the land is
the core of all spirituality and this
relationship and the spirit of 'country' is
central to the issues that are important

WAY OF LIFE..

Traditional indigenous lifestyle is a

hunter and gatherer way of life.
The men hunted the large animals
such as kangaroos, emus and
turtles and the women and
children hunted smaller animals
and collected fruits, berries and
other plants.
On the coast people caught fish
and collected many types of

Australia was a largely unspoilt country where indigenous people

respected the environment around them and made sure animals
and plants were never over hunted or over collected.
People only took enough to feed the number of people there at
the time and nothing was wasted. This ensured there would be
food next time they or someone else needed it.
To maintain the fragile environment and because of seasonal
variations people would move from one area to another. This
helped make sure they didn't hunt, fish or harvest an area too
much so there would be food for the next season. Every part of
the animal and plant was eaten or used to make things such as
clothing, baskets, tools and weapons.

WAY OF LIFE

ABORIGINALS AND TORRES

STRAIGHT ISLANDERS (ATSI)
Who are Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders
today?
An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is:
* A person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
descent
* A person who identifies as an Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander and
* A person who is accepted by the Aboriginal
community in which he or she lives.

ABORIGINAL FLAG

The Aboriginal Flag is divided horizontally into equal

halves of black (top) and red (bottom), with a yellow
circle in the centre.

Black symbolises Aboriginal people

Yellow represents the sun, the constant renewer of life

TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER

FLAG
Green is for the land. The dharri or
deri (type of headdress) is a symbol
for all Torres Strait Islanders. Black
represents the people.
Blue is for the sea.
The five-pointed star represents the
island groups. Used in navigation, the
star is also an important symbol for
the sea-faring Torres Strait Islander
people.
The colour of the star represents
peace.
The Torres Strait Islander Flag stands for
the unity and identity of all Torres
Strait Islanders.

ABORIGINALS AND TORRES STRAIGHT ISLANDERS (ATSI)

AUSTRALIAN CULTURAL
DIVERSITY
Aboriginals and
Torres Strait
Islanders together
account for about
1.1% of Australias
population.

Q1: Where does most

Aboriginal and Torres

Straits Islander people
live?
A. Remote areas
B. Major Cities
C. Regional Areas
D. Very Remote areas

Q2: How many times

higher is the rate of
imprisonment for
Aboriginal And Torres
Strait Islander
people?

Q3: HOW MANY YEARS DO

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES
STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE
LIVE LESS THAN NONINDIGENOUS
AUSTRALIANS?

FACTS OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES

STRAITS ISLANDER PEOPLE

THE EDUCATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

In 1994, 18% of Indigenous people aged 15-64 who were not
attending school had completed a post- school qualification
NationaltoAboriginal
Torres Strait Islander Education
compared
41% of all and
Australians.

Policy

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy came into effect
from January 1, 1990. It attempts to recognise the diversity of Indigenous people's
social, economic and political circumstances, cultural values and educational
aspirations, and aims to improve their educational opportunities and outcomes. It
has four main themes:

to ensure Indigenous involvement in educational decision-making;

to provide equality of access for Indigenous people to education services;
to raise the rates of Indigenous participation in education to those of all
Australians; and
to achieve equitable and appropriate educational outcomes for Indigenous
people.
In 1994, there was a National Review of Education for Indigenous people. In
response to this review, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is involved in appraising
Indigenous education statistics over the next two years.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF INDIGENOUS

PEOPLE, 1994
Highest level of
education
attained
Have a post-school
qualification
Bachelor degree or
higher
Skilled vocational
qualification
Basic vocational
qualification
Inadequately
described
Do not have a postschool qualification
Year 12
Below year 12
Never attended
school

Men %

Women %

Persons %

18.3

15.6

16.9

0.8

1.7

1.3

1.7

2.8

2.2

7.3

0.9

4.1

3.2

5.8

4.5

5.2

4.4

4.8

81.7
70.9

84.4

83.1

71.8

71.4

4.7

5.4

5.0

TotalSource:
people
85.2
86.3
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey, 1994 (unpublished data)

171.5

ADELAIDE PARKLANDS KAURNA

PLACE NAMES SIGNAGE

KAURNA LANGUAGE IN PUBLIC ART