Aboriginal

A Latin-derived English word the Europeans used to describe the earliest inhabitants of Australia.

ALRA

Aboriginal Land Rights Act

Assimilation

A 19th century idea that Indigenous people should be 'improved' by being integrated into the white society and way of life. Its more extreme advocates hoped to eventually "breed out" Aboriginality or colour. From the 1930s assimilation became Government Policy.

ATSIC

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. ATSIC is Australia's national policymaking and service delivery agency for Indigenous people. It is an independent statutory authority which was established by the Commonwealth government in 1989 under the ATSIC Act.

Colonialism

The establishment of control over the original inhabitants of an area by taking possession of their land, introducing colonists and a colonial administration.

DAA

Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The NSW Government department that deals with Aboriginal issues.

Dispossession

When speaking about Aboriginal people, this refers primarily to their loss of land. Given the spiritual ties which Indigenous people have to their land, its removal also led to the loss of their culture, language and religions, identity and economic independence.

Dreaming

The Dreaming has different meanings for different Aboriginal groups. The Dreaming can be seen as an embodiment of Aboriginal creation which gives meaning to everything. It establishes the rules governing relationships between the people, the land and all things.

Elders

Highly respected persons and keepers of knowledge within Aboriginal communities.

Indigenous People

The first peoples.

Koori

KOORI's, GOORI's, MURI's, BOORI's are all Aboriginal words meaning Aborigine.

Boori is the term used in the South and South west, for example by the Yorta Yorta people and Victorian and South Australian Aborigines.

Koori is the term used in the South East, including the Illawarra tribe and Sydney areas.

Muri's are from South East Queensland to several hundred miles above Brisbane.
Goori's are from North East NSW and included the Bundjalung and Gamilaroi (Kamilaroi), and Gumbangirr people.

LALC

Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Land Councils

These function in a three-tiered system made up of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, 13 Regional Aboriginal Land Councils and 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils. Their functions include:

a. Land acquisition through purchase or land claim.

b. Establishing commercial enterprises to generate an economic base for Aboriginal communities in NSW.

c. Addressing Aboriginal Heritage and cultural issues.

d. Advising and negotiating with government at all levels to ensure the preservation of Aboriginal rights.

Land Rights

The struggle by Aboriginal people to gain recognition of their prior ownership of Australia. The fight is not simply about obtaining rights to the land, but also about fulfilling traditional obligations which stem from their spiritual association with it.

Mabo

The Mabo decision resulted in the High Court of Australia overturning the fiction of "terra nullius". The successful claimant was a Torres Strait Islander by the name of Eddie Mabo.

Native Title

Recognition of the traditional rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in relation to land and water. Native Title relates to traditional laws and customs, now recognised under federal Australian law.

NSWALC

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council.

RALC

Regional Aboriginal Land Council. The NSWALC is made up of 13 RALCs located across New South Wales. Each Regional Aboriginal Land Council is made up of representatives elected by the various Local Aboriginal Land Councils. RALCs play an advisory role in the management of the land council network but do not have direct authority over any Local Aboriginal Land Council. The RALC also provides a local support base for LALCs and their elected Councillor.

Reconciliation

To restore to harmony after wrong doing. The Reconciliation movement aims to encourage co-operation and harmony between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It calls for recognition and acknowledgment of the wrongs done to Aboriginal people throughout history

Self-determination

Refers to the right of every people to control their own destiny. It also refers to their right to determine their cultural, spiritual, economic and social development.

Stolen Generation

One of the greatest assaults on Aboriginal cultural and family life was the forced separation of Aboriginal children from their families. This occurred from the late 1800s to 1969 when the practice officially ended. The many thousands of children taken have become known as the 'Stolen Generations'.

Terra Nullius

A concept in international law meaning 'a territory belonging to no-one' or 'over which no-one claims ownership'. The concept is related to the legal acceptance of occupation as a means of peacefully acquiring territory. However, a fundamental condition of a valid occupation is that the territory should belong to no-one. The concept has been used to justify the colonisation of Australia. The High Court decision of 1992 rejected terra nullius and recognises Indigenous native title.

Wik

The decision of the High Court of Australia on 23 December 1996, which states that the grant of a pastoral lease does not necessarily extinguish (remove) native title. The Wik decision found that native title rights may coexist with the rights of some leaseholders. The Court said that where there is a conflict between native title rights and the rights of the leaseholder, the rights of the leaseholder prevail. The court case was launched by the Wik People of Cape York.

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