Katana VentraIP

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation.[3][4] They consist of two distinct groups, which includes many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common;[5][a] 812,728 people self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal; 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; while 4.4% identified with both groups.[7] Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag have been official flags of Australia.

This article is about the two ethnically distinct groups of indigenous peoples of Australia: Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. For the whole Australian population, see Australians.

Total population

265,685

265,685

221,276

100,512

74,546

57,767

42,265

28,537

7,513

795[2]

The time of arrival of the first human beings in Australia is a matter of debate and ongoing investigation. The earliest conclusively human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, which have been dated to around 40,000 years ago,[8] although Indigenous Australians have most likely been living in Australia for upwards of 65,000 years.[9] Isolated for millennia by rising sea water after the last Ice Age, Australian Aboriginal peoples developed a variety of regional cultures and languages, invented distinct artistic and religious traditions, and affected the environment of the continent in a number of ways through hunting, fire-stick farming, and possibly the introduction of the dog. Technologies for warfare and hunting like the boomerang and spear were constructed of natural materials, as were musical instruments like the didgeridoo.


Although there are a number of cultural commonalities among Indigenous Australians, there is also a great diversity among different communities.[10] The 2022 Australian census recorded 167 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages used at home by some 76,978 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.[7] At the time of European colonisation, it is estimated that there were over 250 Aboriginal languages. It is now estimated that all but 13 remaining Indigenous languages are considered endangered.[11][12] Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English (which also has a tangible influence of Indigenous languages in the phonology and grammatical structure). Around three quarters of Australian place names are of Aboriginal origin.[13]


The Indigenous population prior to European settlement was small, with estimates ranging widely from 318,000[14] to over 3,000,000[15] in total, with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River.[16] The First Fleet of British settlers arrived on instructions to "live in amity and kindness" with the Aboriginal population.[17] Nevertheless, a population collapse principally from disease followed European colonisation,[18][19] beginning with a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans. Massacres and frontier conflicts involving European settlers also contributed to depopulation.[20][21] From the 19th to the mid-20th century, government policy removed many mixed heritage children from Aboriginal communities, which was judged "genocidal" in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997).[22][23]

Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status[52]

Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status[52]

Geographical distribution of people with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status[52]

Geographical distribution of people with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status[52]

Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander ancestry[52]

Geographical distribution of people with Torres Strait Islander ancestry[52]

Indigenous status of population in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

Indigenous status of population in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

Ancestry of population in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population (Torres Strait Islander or other)[52]

Ancestry of population in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population (Torres Strait Islander or other)[52]

Languages used at home by Torres Strait Islanders in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

Languages used at home by Torres Strait Islanders in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

Religious affiliations of Torres Strait islanders in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

Religious affiliations of Torres Strait islanders in localities with significant share of Torres Strait islander population[52]

In 1938, over 100 Aboriginal people protested one of the first celebrations by gathering for an "Aborigines Conference" in Sydney and marking the day as the "Day of Protest and Mourning";[170] the day is now often referred to as "Survival Day" or "Invasion Day" by Indigenous peoples.

Australia Day

In 1963 the of Yirrkala in Arnhem Land sent two bark petitions to the Australian government to protest the granting of mining rights on their lands. The Yirrkala Bark petitions were traditional Aboriginal documents to be recognised under Commonwealth law.[171]

Yolngu people

On Australia Day in 1972, 34 years after the first "Day of Protest and Mourning", Indigenous activists set up the on the lawn of Old Parliament House to protest the state of Aboriginal land rights. The Tent Embassy was given heritage status in 1995, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012,[172] making it the longest, unanswered protest camp in the world.[173]

Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous status by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginals only) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginals only) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

The prevalent 1st response about ancestry of the Queensland people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of Indigenous population

The prevalent 1st response about ancestry of the Queensland people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of Indigenous population

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by Local Government Areas (LGA), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by Local Government Areas (LGA), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by State Suburbs (SSC), according to the 2016 census (uninhabited mesh blocks (MB) excluded)

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) by State Suburbs (SSC), according to the 2016 census (uninhabited mesh blocks (MB) excluded)

The languages most often spoken at home by people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of Indigenous population

The languages most often spoken at home by people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of Indigenous population

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Torres Strait Islanders only) and spoken at home on one of Indigenous Australian languages by Statistical Areas 1 (SA1)

Geographical distribution of the population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Torres Strait Islanders only) and spoken at home on one of Indigenous Australian languages by Statistical Areas 1 (SA1)

The prevalent religious affiliation of the people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of self-identified Indigenous population

The prevalent religious affiliation of the people self-identified as having Indigenous status (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders or both) in Statistical Areas 1 (SA1) with more than 5% of self-identified Indigenous population

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Torres Strait Islanders only) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

Geographical distribution of the Queensland population self-identified as having Indigenous status (Torres Strait Islanders only) by Indigenous Locations (ILOC), according to the 2016 census

In the , over 33% of the Indigenous population lived in major cities, compared with about 75% of the non-Indigenous population, with a further 24% in "inner regional" areas (compared with 18%), 20% in "outer regional" (8%), while nearly 18% lived in "remote" or "very remote" areas (2%).[246]

2016 Australian Census

The Indigenous population of Australia is much younger than the non-Indigenous population, with an estimated of 21 years (37 years for non-Indigenous), due to higher rates of birth and death.[311] For this reason, age standardisation is often used when comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous statistics.[312]

median age

Efforts towards recognition and reparations[edit]

In 2021, Australia's government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, announced the creation of a reparations fund for members of the Stolen Generations—Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their homes as children. This policy of forced assimilation, which continued into the 1970s, has had lasting impacts on Indigenous communities. The reparations fund includes one-off payments of 75,000 Australian dollars to victims, as part of a broader initiative to address the serious disadvantages faced by Australia's Indigenous population.[344]


In addition, there's an emerging solidarity between Black and Indigenous communities for finding land justice and reparations. Initiatives like the Indigenous-led Land Back movement and various Black community organizations are working towards reclaiming land and advocating for financial restitution for civil and human rights violations. These movements utilize cooperative structures to advance land justice, emphasizing the importance of communal wealth and regenerative systems that are not extractive of people or the planet.[345]

1937: man William Cooper collects 1800 signatures to petition King George VI for representation of the original occupants of Australia in federal Parliament.

Yorta Yorta

26 January () 1938: The Aborigines Progressive Association holds a Day of Mourning, to protest 150 years of callous treatment and the seizure of land.

Australia Day

. Australian Human Rights Commission. 31 October 2023.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice"

. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2009.

"Australian Database of Indigenous Violence"

. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

"Home page"

. Indigenous.gov.au. Australian Government. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

"Home page"

. National Indigenous Times.

"Home page"

. Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. 15 January 2018.

"Home page"

. Australasian Legal Information Institute (austlii). 20 July 2017.

"Indigenous Law Resources"

. Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

"Map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health/medical services"