Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Aboriginal identity can be politically controversial in contemporary discourse, among both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Successive censuses have shown those identifying as Indigenous (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) at a rate far exceeding the growth of the whole Australian population.
Some Aboriginal people, especially those living in remote areas, are multi-lingual. [52] Many of the original 250–400 Aboriginal languages (more than 250 languages and about 800 dialectal varieties on the continent) are endangered or extinct, [ 54 ] although some efforts are being made at language revival for some.
Aboriginal ceremonies have been a part of Aboriginal culture since the beginning, and still play a vital part in society. [23] They are held often, for many different reasons, all of which are based on the spiritual beliefs and cultural practices of the community. [ 24 ]
[citation needed] In the 2011 census, there was a 20% rise in people who identify as Aboriginal. [239] In the 2016 census, there was another 18.4% rise on the 2011 figure. 590,056 respondents identified themselves as Aboriginal, 32,345 Torres Strait Islander, and a further 26,767 both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. [53]
Aboriginal Australians along the coast and rivers were also expert fishermen. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people relied on the dingo as a companion animal, using it to assist with hunting and for warmth on cold nights. Aboriginal women's implements, including a coolamon lined with paperbark and a digging stick. This woven basket ...
The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 established a procedure that transferred almost 50 per cent of land in the Northern Territory (around 600 000 km2) to collective Aboriginal ownership. [ 31 ] [ 4 ] Following this, some states introduced their own land rights legislation; however, there were significant limitations on the returned lands, or ...
Drawing on this important relationship with Country, many First Nations Australians — including Aboriginal Australians across the continent and Torres Strait Islanders alike [13] [34] — identify a sense of responsibility or obligation to care for Country as a central tenet of traditional custodianship.
The 2016 Australian census counted 4,514 people living on the islands, of whom 91.8% were Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal Australian people. (64% of the population identified as Torres Strait Islander; 8.3% as Aboriginal Australian; 6.5% as Papua New Guinean; 3.6% as other Australian and 2.6% as "Maritime South-East Asian", etc.). [1]