The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians increased from the 1990s, with Nick Parson's film Dead Heart (1996) featuring Ernie Dingo and Bryan Brown;[247] Rolf de Heer's The Tracker (2002), starring Gary Sweet and David Gulpilil;[248] and Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002).[249]. [citation needed], Despite efforts to bar their enlistment, over 1,000 Indigenous Australians fought for Australia in the First World War. [118] as of 2020[update] they have mapped almost 500 places where massacres happened, with 12,361 Aboriginal people killed and 204 Colonists killed,[119] numbering at least 311 massacres over a period of about 140 years.

Other factors, unlike education, are not covered by government policy, such as discrimination and unfair treatment. Massacres and frontier conflicts involving European settlers also contributed to depopulation. [289] Unlike other Australians, however, voting was not made compulsory for Indigenous people, and it was not until the repeal of Section 127 of the Constitution of Australia following the 1967 referendum that Indigenous Australians were counted in the population for the purposes of distribution of electoral seats. In 1976, Sir Douglas Nicholls was appointed as the 28th Governor of South Australia, the first Aboriginal person appointed to vice-regal office. [61][62] Research indicates a single founding Sahul group with subsequent isolation between regional populations which were relatively unaffected by later migrations from the Asian mainland, which may have introduced the dingo 4–5,000 years ago. [i], By 1900, the recorded Indigenous population of Australia had declined to approximately 93,000. Some Indigenous people who initially became famous in other spheres – for instance, poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal – have used their celebrity to draw attention to Indigenous issues. [78], In terms of aquaculture, explorer Thomas Mitchell noted large stone fish traps on the Darling River at Brewarrina. Jedda (1955) was the first Australian feature film to be shot in colour film, the first to star Aboriginal actors in lead roles (Ngarla Kunoth and Robert Tudawali), and the first to be entered at the Cannes Film Festival. providing a legal advice that a person was a 'aboriginal native' if they were a 'full-blood aboriginal'. Dixon and M. Duwell have published two books dealing with sacred and everyday poetry: "The Honey Ant Men's Love Song" and "Little Eva at Moonlight Creek", University of Queensland Press, 1994. [266][263], The life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is difficult to quantify accurately. [8], The population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement is contentious and has been estimated at between 318,000[9] and 1,000,000[10] with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River. [190] In the 1966 census, Torres Strait Islanders were considered to be Aboriginal. While relatively few Indigenous Australians have been elected to political office (Neville Bonner, Aden Ridgeway, Ken Wyatt, Nova Peris, Jacqui Lambie and Linda Burney remain the only Indigenous Australians to have been elected to the Australian Federal Parliament), Aboriginal rights campaigner Sir Douglas Nicholls was appointed Governor of the State of South Australia in 1976, and many others have become famous through political activism – for instance, Charles Perkins' involvement in the Freedom Ride of 1965 and subsequent work; or Torres Strait Islander Eddie Mabo's part in the landmark native title decision that bears his name. (. Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage to groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. Australia’s first people—known as Aboriginal Australians—have lived on the continent for over 50,000 years.

It's more than a synonym for treaty", "The people and history of the Torres Strait Islands", Longitudinal research into petrol sniffing and other substance abuse trends in Indigenous communities: final report, "Petrol sniffing continues to decline in Indigenous Communities", "Petrol Sniffing in Remote Northern Territory Communities", "Pilbara Rock Art not Affected by Mining Emissions: Study", "Population Distribution, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians", "Research Note no. [277] The Closing the Gap Report 2019 reported that of the seven targets, only two – early childhood education and Year 12 attainment – had been met. "Masked Corroborees of the Northwest" DVD 47 min. [63][64] A 2012 paper reports that there is also evidence of a substantial genetic flow from India to northern Australia estimated at slightly over four thousand years ago, a time when changes in tool technology and food processing appear in the Australian archaeological record, suggesting that these may be related. [117] There is evidence that massacres of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which began with arrival of British colonists, continued until the 1930s. [307][308] In the last decade, nearly 200 native title claims covering 1.3 million km2 of land – approximately 18% of the Australian continent – have been approved. [287], Since the 20th century there have been a number of individuals and organisations who have instigated significant events in the struggle for political representation, land rights and other political issues affecting the lives of Indigenous Australians:[288]. [citation needed], Place names sometimes reveal discrimination, such as Mount Jim Crow in Rockhampton, Queensland (now Mount Baga), as well as racist policies, like Brisbane's Boundary Streets which used to indicate boundaries where Aboriginal people were not allowed to cross during certain times of the day. The didgeridoo, which is widely thought to be a stereotypical instrument of Aboriginal people, was traditionally played by Aboriginal men of the eastern Kimberley region and Arnhem Land (such as the Yolngu). This has led to more Indigenous people undertaking higher or vocational education courses. It comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from ab (from) and origo (origin, beginning). A representative body, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), was set up in 1990.

[190] Prior to 1947, Torres Strait Islanders were considered to be Aboriginal in censuses. [124][125][126] Many place names in Australia mark places of frontier massacres, for example Murdering Gully in Newcastle. Some communities, cultures or groups may be inclusive of others and alter or overlap; significant changes have occurred in the generations after colonisation. [300] The plan was abandoned in September 2012, with Minister Jenny Macklin citing insufficient community awareness for the decision.

Hip hop music is helping preserve some Indigenous languages.[240]. [271] A 2018 longitudinal study by the University of Queensland (UQ), commissioned by the National Indigenous Australians Agency,[o] reported that the number of people sniffing petrol in the 25 communities studied had declined by 95.2%, from 453 to just 22, related to the distribution of a new, low aromatic petrol, Opal, in NT in 2005. This presents significant issues for employment. As of 2018[update], Indigenous students or adults, when compared with non-Indigenous peers:[276], Closing the Gap has focused on improving education for Indigenous people, with some success. For topics relating to Aboriginal peoples in Australia (excluding Torres Strait Islanders), see, Earliest inhabitants of the Australian continent and Torres Strait Islands, Indigenous Australians as a percentage of the population, 2011, Aboriginal Australians as a percentage of the population, 2011, Torres Strait Islanders as a percentage of the population, 2011, Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as a percentage of the population, 2011, See Infobox above for Distribution by state & territory, It has been suggested that this section be, List of resources about traditional arts and culture of Oceania, The use of the term Indigenous or Indigenous Australian is discouraged by many for being too generic; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders generally prefer more specific terms for their unique cultural origins, or "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander".