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Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australia n continent and its nearby islands. The term includes both the ''' Torres Strait Islanders ''' and the '''Aboriginal People''', who together make up about 2.5% of Australia's population. The latter term is usually used to refer to those who live in mainland Australia, Tasmania , and some of the other Adjacent Islands . The Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous Australians who live in the Torres Strait Islands between Australia and New Guinea . Indigenous Australians are recognised to have arrived between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago, though the lower end of this range has wider acceptance. The term ''Indigenous Australians'' encompasses many diverse communities and societies, and these are further divided into local communities with unique cultures. Fewer than 200 of the languages of these groups remain in use — all but 20 are highly endangered. It is estimated that prior to the arrival of British settlers the population of Indigenous Australians was up to 1 million. The distribution of people was similar to that of the current Australian population, with the majority living in the south east centered along the Murray River . DEFINITIONS performing at Crown Street Mall, Wollongong ]] Although the culture and lifestyle of Aboriginal groups have much in common, Aboriginal society is not a single entity. The diverse Aboriginal communities have different modes of subsistence, cultural practices, languages, and technologies. However, these peoples also share a larger set of traits, and are otherwise seen as being broadly related. A collective identity as Indigenous Australians is recognised and exists along names from the indigenous languages which are commonly used to identify groups based on regional geography and other affiliations. These include: '' Koori '' (or ''Koorie'') in New South Wales and Victoria ; '' Murri '' in Queensland ; '' Noongar '' in southern Western Australia ; '' Yamatji '' in Central Western Australia; '' Wangkai '' in the Western Australian Goldfields ; '' Nunga '' in southern South Australia ; '' Anangu '' in northern South Australia, and neighbouring parts of Western Australia and Northern Territory ; '' Yapa '' in western central Northern Territory; '' Yolngu '' in eastern Arnhem Land (NT) and '' Palawah '' (or ''Pallawah'') in Tasmania . These larger groups may be further subdivided; for example, Anangu (meaning a person from Australia's central desert region) recognises localised subdivisions such as Yankunytjatjara , Pitjantjatjara , Ngaanyatjara , Luritja and Antikirinya . The term "blacks" has often been applied to Indigenous Australians. This owes rather more to Racial Stereotyping than Ethnology , as it categorises Indigenous Australians with the other Black People s of Asia and Africa , despite the relationships only being ones of very distant shared ancestry. In the 1970s, many Aboriginal activists, such as Gary Foley proudly embraced the term "black", and writer Kevin Gilbert 's groundbreaking book from the time was entitled ''Living Black''. In recent years young Indigenous Australians — particularly in urban areas — have increasingly adopted aspects of black American and Afro-Caribbean culture, creating what has been described as a form of "black transnationalism."Chris Gibson, Peter Dunbar-Hall, ''Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia'', pp. 120-121 (UNSW Press, 2005) Aboriginal Australians The word , ''Bellum Catilinae'' , ch. 6. has been used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789. It soon became capitalised and employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. Strictly speaking, "Aborigine" is the noun and "Aboriginal" the adjectival form; however the latter is often also employed to stand as a noun. Note that the use of "Aborigine(s)" or "Aboriginal(s)" in this sense, i.e. as a noun, has acquired negative, even derogatory connotations among some sectors of the community, who regard it as insensitive, and even offensive. UNSW guide on How to avoid Discriminatory Treatment on Racial of Ethnic Grounds The more acceptable and correct expression is "Aboriginal Australians" or "Aboriginal people", though even this is sometimes regarded as an expression to be avoided because of its historical associations with colonialism. "Indigenous Australians" has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s. Torres Strait Islanders The Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions; the eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea , and speak a Papuan Language . Accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation "Aboriginal Australians." This has been another factor in the promotion of the more inclusive term "Indigenous Australians". LANGUAGES See Also: Australian Aboriginal languages Australian Aboriginal sign languages The , suggest that the Pama-Nyungan group, and indeed the entire Australian linguistic area, is rather a '' Sprachbund '', or group of languages having very long and intimate contact, rather than a typical linguistic phylum.Dixon, R.M.W. 1997. ''The Rise and Fall of Languages''. CUP. Given their long occupation of Australia, it has been suggested that Aboriginal languages form one specific sub-grouping. Certainly, similarities in the Phoneme set of Aboriginal languages throughout the continent is suggestive of a common origin. A common feature of many Australian languages is that they display so-called mother-in-law languages, special speech registers used only in the presence of certain close relatives. The position of Tasmanian languages is unknown, and it is also unknown whether they comprised one or more than one specific language family, as only a few poor-quality word-lists have survived the impact of colonisation and social dislocation. HISTORY See Also: History of Indigenous Australians Prehistory of Australia The general Consensus among scholars for the arrival of humans in Australia is placed at 40,000 to 50,000 years ago with a possible range of up to 70,000 years ago though not as widely supported. At the time of first European contact, it is estimated that a minimum of 315,000 and as many as 1 million people lived in Australia. The mode of life and material cultures varied greatly from region to region. The greatest Population Density was to be found in the southern and eastern regions of the continent, the Murray River valley in particular. British colonisation of Australia began in , loss of land and direct violence reduced the Aboriginal population by an estimated 90% between 1788 and 1900 . A Wave Of Massacres and resistance followed the frontier of British settlement. By the 1870s all the fertile areas of Australia had been appropriated, and indigenous communities reduced to impoverished remnants living either on the fringes of Australian communities or on lands considered unsuitable for settlement. Many indigenous people adapted to European culture, working as stock hands or labourers. With the exception of a few in the remote interior, all surviving indigenous communities gradually became dependent on the settler population for their livelihood. By the early 20th century the indigenous population had declined to between 50,000 and 90,000. Commonwealth legislation in 1962 specifically gave Aborigines the right to vote in Commonwealth elections. The 1967 Referendum allowed the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people, and for Aboriginal people to be included when the country does a count to determine electoral representation. In the 1971 controversial Gove Land Rights Case , Justice Blackburn ruled that Australia had been Terra Nullius before British settlement, and that no concept of Native Title existed in Australian law. In 1972 , the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra . In 1992 , the Australian High Court handed down its decision in the Mabo Case , declaring the previous legal concept of '' Terra Nullius '' to be invalid. In 2004 , the Australian Government abolished The Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Commission ( ATSIC ), which had been Australia's peak indigenous organisation. CULTURE See Also: Indigenous Australian culture ]] There are a large number of Tribal Divisions and Language Groups in Aboriginal Australia , and, corresponding to this, a wide variety of diversity exists within cultural practices. However, there are some similarities between cultures. Belief systems See Also: Indigenous Australian mythology Dreamtime Dreaming Religious demography among Indigenous Australians is not conclusive because of flaws in the census. See . (See Islam In Australia ). ''In the world's oldest continent the creative epoch known as the Dreamtime stretches back into a remote era in history when the creator ancestors known as the First Peoples travelled across the great southern land of ''Bandaiyan'' (Australia), creating and naming as they went.Andrews, M. (2004) 'The Seven Sisters', Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, p. 424 Indigenous Australia's Oral Tradition and spiritual values are based upon reverence for the land and a belief in this Dreamtime . The Dreaming is at once both the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. Major Ancestral spirits include the Rainbow Serpent , Baiame , and Bunjil . The Yowie and Bunyip are also well known Ancestral beings. One version of the Dreaming story runs as follows: ''The whole world was asleep. Everything was quiet, nothing moved, nothing grew. The animals slept under the earth. One day the rainbow snake woke up and crawled to the surface of the earth. She pushed everything aside that was in her way. She wandered through the whole country and when she was tired she coiled up and slept. So she left her tracks. After she had been everywhere she went back and called the frogs. When they came out their tubby stomachs were full of water. The rainbow snake tickled them and the frogs laughed. The water poured out of their mouths and filled the tracks of the rainbow snake. That's how rivers and lakes were created. Then grass and trees began to grow and the earth filled with life.'' Music , or yirdaki]] See Also: Indigenous Australian music Aboriginal people developed unique instruments and folk styles. The yirdaki or Didgeridoo is commonly considered the national instrument of Aboriginal people, and it is claimed to be the world's oldest wind instrument. However, it was traditionally only played by Arnhem Land people, such as the Yolngu , and then only by the men. It has possibly been used by the people of the Kakadu region for 1500 years. Clapping Sticks are probably the more ubiquitous musical instrument, especially because they help maintain the rhythm for the song. Much contemporary Aboriginal music is predominantly of the Country Music genre. Most indigenous radio stations - particularly in metropolitan areas - serve a double purpose as the local country music station. An example is 4AAA in Brisbane . More recently, Indigenous Australian Musicians have branched into Rock And Roll , hip hop and reggae. One of the most well known modern bands is Yothu Yindi playing in a style which has been called Aboriginal Rock . Art ]] See Also: Indigenous Australian art Australia has a tradition of Aboriginal art which is thousands of years old, the best known forms being rock art and Bark Painting . These paintings usually consist of paint using earthly colours, specifically, from paint made from ochre. Traditionally, Aboriginals have painted stories from their dreamtime. Modern Aboriginal artists continue the tradition using modern materials in their artworks. Aboriginal art is the most internationally recognisable form of Australian art. Several styles of Aboriginal art have developed in modern times including the watercolour paintings of Albert Namatjira ; the Hermannsburg School , and the acrylic Papunya Tula "dot art" movement. Painting is a large source of income for some Central Australian communities such as at Yuendumu today. Poetry Australian Aboriginal poetry is found throughout Australia. It ranges from the sacred to the every day. Ronald M Berndt has published traditional Aboriginal song-poetry in his book "Three Faces of Love", Nelson 1976. R.M.W. Dixon and M. Duwell have published two books dealing with sacred and every day poetry- "The Honey Ant men's love song" and "Little Eva at Moonlight Creek", University of Queensland Press, 1994, There is also a collection of poetry called Quinkin: erotic poems from the Australian Aborigines Traditional recreation game.]] The Djabwurrung and Jardwadjali people of western Victoria once participated in the traditional game of Marn Grook , a type of Football played with Possum hide. The game is believed by some to have inspired Tom Wills , inventor of the code of Australian Rules Football , a popular Australian winter sport. Similarities between Marn Grook and Australian football include the unique skill of jumping to catch the ball or high "marking", which results in a free kick. The word "mark" may have originated in "mumarki", which is "an Aboriginal word meaning catch" in a dialect of a Marn Grook playing tribe. Indeed, Aussie Rules has seen many indigenous players at elite football, and have produced some of the most exciting and skillful to play the modern game. Approximately one in ten AFL players are of indigenous origin. {Link without Title} The contribution the Aboriginal people have made to the game is recognised by the annual AFL "Dreamtime at the 'G" match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between Essendon and Richmond football clubs (the colours of the two clubs combine to form the colours of the Aboriginal Flag , and many great players have come from these clubs, including Essendon's Michael Long and Richmond's Maurice Rioli ). Testifying to this abundance of indigenous talent, the Aboriginal All-Stars are an AFL-level all-Aboriginal football side competes against any one of the Australian Football League 's current football teams in pre-season tests. The Clontarf Foundation and football academy is just one organisation aimed at further developing aboriginal football talent. The Tiwi Bombers began playing in the Northern Territory Football League and became the first and only all-Aboriginal side to compete in a major Australian competition. ISSUES FACING INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS TODAY The Indigenous Australian population is a mostly urbanised demographic, but a substantial number (27% Australian Bureau of Statistics ) live in remote settlements often located on the site of former church initiated contracts with Aboriginal communities, where substantial financial benefits are available in return for commitments such as ensuring children wash regularly and attend school. These contracts are known as Shared Responsibility Agreements. This sees a political shift from 'self determination' for Aboriginal communities to 'mutual obligation'Mutual obligation, shared responsibility agreements & indigenous health strategy, Ian PS Anderson which has been criticised as a "paternalistic and dictatorial arrangement"Nothing mutual about denying Aborigines a voice, Larissa Behrendt, The Age newspaper, December 8, 2004 [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Nothing-mutual-about-denying-Aborigines-a-voice/2004/12/07/1102182295283.html . Health In 2002 data collected on health status reported that Indigenous Australians were twice as likely as non-indigenous people to report their health as fair/poor and one-and-a-half times more likely to have a disability or long-term health condition (after adjusting for demographic structures).Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 1996-2001, the life expectancy of an Indigenous Australian was 59.4 years for males and, in 2004-05, 65.0 years for females 2, approximately 17 years lower than the Australian average.Australian Bureau of Statistics. [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/00000000000000000000000000000000/294322bc5648ead8ca256f7200833040!OpenDocument Health problems with the highest disparity (compared with the non-Indigenous population) in incidence are circulatory system diseases (5-10-fold increase in rheumatic heart disease and hypertensive disease, 2-fold increase in other heart disease, 3-fold increase in death from circulatory system disorders, 24% of total indigenous deaths), type 2 diabetes (11% incidence in Indigenous Australians, 3% in non-indigenous population, 10-20-fold increase in death rate from diabetes, 18% of total indigenous deaths), chronic kidney disease (2-3-fold increase in listing on the dialysis and transplant registry, up to 30-fold increase in end stage renal disease, 8-fold increase in death rates from kidney disease, 2.5% of total indigenous deaths), cancer (60% increased death rate), respiratory disease (3-4-fold increased death rate, 8% of total indigenous deaths), communicable diseases (10-fold increase in TB, HBV and HCV, 20-fold increase in Chlamydia, 40-fold increase in Shigellosis and Syphilis, 70-fold increase in Gonococcal infection), injury (3-fold increase in fatality, of Indigenous fatal injuries 24% are from suicide, 26% from transport and 17% from assault), vision problems (2-fold increase in cataracts), oral health (2-fold increase in children with dental decay) and mental health (5-fold increase in drug-induce mental disorders, 2-fold increase in schizophrenia, 2-3-fold increase in suicide, 3-fold increase in death rate).Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Each of these indicators is expected to underestimate the true prevalence of disease in the Indigenous population, due to reduced levels of diagnosis.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/9226 The following factors have been at least partially implicated in the racial inequality in life expectancy:Australian Bureau of Statistics.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. {Link without Title}
Additional problems are created by the reluctance of many rural indigenous people to leave their homelands to access medical treatment in larger urban areas, particularly when they have need for on-going treatments such as dialysis.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. {Link without Title} Successive Federal Governments have responded to the problem by implementing programs such as the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health ( OATSIH ). There have been some small successes, such as the reduction of infant mortality since the 1970s (down to twice the non-Indigenous levels in 1996-2001),Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. {Link without Title} effected by bringing health services into indigenous communities, but on the whole the problem remains unsolved. Education Indigenous students as a group leave school earlier, and live with a lower standard of education, compared with their non-indigenous peers. Although the situation is slowly improving (with significant gains between 1994 and 2004),Australian Bureau of Statistics. {Link without Title} both the levels of participation in education and training among Indigenous Australians and their levels of attainment remain well below those of non-Indigenous Australians.
In response to this problem, the Commonwealth Government formulated a National Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Education Policy . A number of government initiatives have resulted, some of which are listed by the Commonwealth Government's Indigenous Education page. Crime An Indigenous Australian is 11 times more likely to be in prison than a non-Indigenous Australian, and in June 2004, 21% of prisoners in Australia were Indigenous. 3 This over-representation of Indigenous Australians in prisons was drawn to public attention by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody . Violent crime, including domestic and sexual abuse, is a problem in many communities. Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to be a victim of violence than non-Indigenous Australians, with 24% of Indigenous Australians reported being a victim of violence in 2001. This is consistent with hospitalisation data showing higher rates of injury due to assault. An estimated three in five children have suffered some kind of sexual abuse in the southeast Queensland Aboriginal community of Cherbourg 4. In May, 2006, Alice Springs crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers publicly declared child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities a "National problem".http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19164035-601,00.html Australia-wide, Indigenous Australian children are 20-fold overrepresented in the juvenile corrective serviceAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare. and 20-fold more likely to be involved in child abuse and neglect cases.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/9226 Unemployment and housing According to the 2001 Census, an Indigenous Australian is almost three times more likely to be unemployed (20.0% unemployment) than a non-Indigenous Australian (7.6%). The difference is not solely due to the increased proportion of Indigenous Australians living in rural communities, for unemployment is higher in Indigenous Australian populations living in urban centres (Source: ABS ). The average household income for Indigenous Australian populations is 60% of the non-Indigenous average.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Indigenous Australians are 6-fold more likely to be homeless, 15-fold more likely to be living in improvised dwellings, and 25-fold more likely to be living with 10 or more people.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/9226 Substance abuse , NT, where kava has been introduced as a safer alternative to alcohol]] A number of Indigenous communities suffer from a range of health and social problems associated with Substance Abuse of both legal and illegal drugs. Alcohol consumption within certain Indigenous communities is seen as a significant issue, as are the domestic violence and associated issues resulting from the behaviour. A large 2004-05 health survey by the ABS found that the proportion of the Indigenous adult population engaged in 'risky' and 'high-risk' alcohol consumption (15%) was comparable with that of the non-Indigenous population (14%), based on age-standardised data.5 The percentage-point difference between the two figures quoted is not statistically significant, and a similar result was obtained in the earlier 2000-01 survey. The definition of "risky" and "high-risk" consumption used is 4 or more standard drinks per day average for males, 2 or more for females. One study6 by the Australian National Commission on Drugs (ANCD) published in 2002 attributes the "public misperception of high alcohol use indigenous communities " to "the disproportionate level of harm caused (to the individual and community) by those drinking at very high levels in public" (ANCD 2002:p.2). Even so, other studies have indicated that those in the Indigenous communities who do drink excessively are at greater risk of harm (to themselves and others) than similar-level alcohol consumers in the wider population7, p.32 ''et. seq.'' To combat the problem, a number of programs to prevent or mitigate against alcohol abuse have been attempted in different regions, many initiated from within the communities themselves. These strategies include such actions as the declaration of "Dry Zones" within indigenous communities, prohibition and restriction on point-of-sale access, and community policing and licensing. Some communities (particularly in the Northern Territory) have introduced Kava as a safer alternative to alcohol, as over-indulgence in kava produces sleepiness, in contrast to the violence that can result from over-indulgence in alcohol. These and other measures have met with variable success, and while a number of communities have seen decreases in associated social problems caused by excessive drinking, others continue to struggle with the issue and it remains an ongoing concern. The ANCD study notes that in order to be effective, programs in general need also to address "...the underlying structural determinants that have a significant impact on alcohol and drug misuse" (''Op. cit.'', p.26). Petrol Sniffing is also a problem among some remote Indigenous communities. Petrol vapour produces euphoria and dulling effect in those who inhale it, and due to its relatively low price and widespread availability, is an increasingly popular substance of abuse. Proposed solutions to the problem are a topic of heated debate among politicians and the community at large. Effects of sniffing petrol Northern Territory Government Health Department Petrol Sniffing in Remote Northern Territory Communities Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory In 2005 a new fuel Opal began to be rolled out across the Northern Territory to combat the problem. Opal fuel does not give the 'high' that regular fuel does. Australian Health Ministry Kava is now banned in the Northern Territory http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/23/2012707.htm?site=darwin Political representation Indigenous Australians gained the right to vote in Federal elections in 1965, but it was not until 1967 that they were counted in the distribution of electoral seats and the Australian government gained the power to legislate for Aborigines. Only two Indigenous Australians have been elected to the Australian Parliament, Neville Bonner (1971-1983) and Aden Ridgeway (1999-2005). There are currently no elected Indigenous Australians in the Australian Parliament. ATSIC , the representative body of Aborigine and Torres Strait Islanders, was disbanded and replaced by a network of 30 Indigenous Coordination Centres that administer Shared Responsibility Agreements and Regional Partnership Agreements with Aboriginal communities at a local level.8 MAINLAND AUSTRALIA Groups and communities See Also: List of Indigenous Australian group names Australian Aboriginal kinship Australian Aboriginal language Throughout the history of the continent, there have been many different Aboriginal Groups , each with their own individual Language , culture, and belief structure. At the time of British settlement there were over 200 distinct languages. There are an indeterminate number of indigenous communities, comprised of several hundred groupings. Some communities, cultures or groups may be inclusive of others and alter or overlap; significant changes have occurred in the generations after colonisation. The word 'community' is often used to describe groups identifying by kinship, language or belonging to a particular place or 'country'. A community may draw on separate cultural values and individuals can conceivably belong to a number of communities within Australia, identification within them may be adopted or rejected. An individual community may identify itself by many names, each of which can have alternate English spellings. The largest Aboriginal communities, the Pitjantjatjara , the Arrernte , the Luritja and the Warlpiri are all from Central Australia . Tiwi Islands and Groote Eylandt See Also: Tiwi Islands Groote Eylandt The Tiwi Islands are inhabited by the Tiwi, an Aboriginal people culturally and linguistically distinct from those of Arnhem Land on the mainland just across the water. They number around 2,500. Groote Eylandt belongs to the Anindilyakwa Aboriginal people, and is part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. TASMANIA See Also: Tasmanian Aborigine The Tasmanian Aborigines are thought to have first crossed into Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago via a land bridge between the island and the rest of mainland Australia during an and Dolly Dalrymple. A woman named Truganini , who died in 1876, is generally considered to be the last first-generation tribal Tasmanian Aborigine. This conflict is a subject of the '', March 2003, 47:3 {Link without Title} TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS See Also: Torres Strait Islanders 6% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as fully as 2004. Accessed 21 June 2007 . More than 100 islands make up the , 2005. Accessed 21 June 2007 . There are 6,800 Torres Strait Islanders who live in the area of the Torres Strait, and 42,000 others who live outside of this area, mostly in the north of Queensland, such as in the coastal cities of Townsville and Cairns. Many organisations to do with Indigenous people in Australia are named "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander", showing the importance of Torres Strait Islanders in Australia's indigenous population. The islands were annexed by Queensland in 1879. The Torres Strait Islanders were not given official recognition by the Australian government until the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was set up in 1990. Eddie Mabo is from Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo Decision of 1992 involved. POPULATION The latest Australian Bureau Of Statistics 2005 Snapshot of Australia shows the indigenous population has grown at twice the rate of the overall population since 1996 when the indigenous population stood at 283,000. As at June 2001 , the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated the total resident indigenous population to be 458,520 (2.4% of Australia's total), 90% of whom identified as Aboriginal, 6% Torres Strait Islander and the remaining 4% being of dual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parentage. The proportion of indigenous adults married (de facto or de jure) to non-indigenous spouses was 69%, up from 46% in 1986, and the majority of Aborigines are now of mixed descent. Much of the increase since 1996 can be attributed to higher rates of people identifying themselves as Aborigines and changed definitions of aboriginality. The preliminary census of Indigenous estimated resident population of Australia, at 30 June 2006, is 517,200. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER AUSTRALIANS Australian Bureau Of Statistics 15 AUG 2007 pdf. In the 2001 census the Aboriginal population in different States was:
While the State with the largest total Aboriginal population is New South Wales, as a percentage this constitutes only 2.1% of the overall population of the State. The Northern Territory has the largest Aboriginal population in percentage terms for a State or Territory, with 28.8%. All the other States and Territories have less than 4% of their total populations identifying as Aboriginal; Victoria has the lowest percentage (0.6%). The vast majority of Aboriginal people do not live in separate communities away from the rest of the Australian population: in 2001 about 30% were living in major cities and another 43% in or close to rural towns, an increase from the 46% living in urban areas in 1971. The populations in the eastern states are more likely to be urbanised sometimes in city communities such as at Redfern in Sydney, whereas many of the populations of the western states live in remote areas, closer to a traditional Aboriginal way of life. PROMINENT INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS See Also: Prominent Indigenous Australians See Also: Category:Indigenous Australian sportspeople There have been many distinguished Indigenous Australians, in politics, sports, the arts and other areas. These include (in alphabetical order):
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