Glossary

ATSI - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Assimilation - A 19th century idea that Indigenous people should be 'improved' by being 'civilised' and becoming Christians and learning how to work as Europeans did. From the 1930s assimilation became government policy. *

Colonialism - The forcible takeover of the land of indigenous peoples and the exploitation of the land and the people, ignoring the rights of indigenous people. *

Country - A term used by Aboriginal people to refer to the land to which they belong and their place of Dreaming. Aboriginal language usage of the word country is much broader than standard English. *

Culture- The accepted and traditionally patterned ways of behaving and a set of common understandings shared by members of a group or community. Includes land, language, ways of living and working artistic expression, relationships and identity. *

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 for Aboriginal people. *

Elders - Key person and keepers of various knowledge within Aboriginal communities. *
Indigenous - Native to a place or area, originating in and characterising a particular region or country. *
Indigenous People - The first peoples to a land. *

Kinship - An important part of Indigenous cultures and values. It includes all relationships and being related to and belonging to the land. *

Law - Social control based on consensus and individual rights being subordinate to the welfare of the community. *

Land Rights - The struggle by Aboriginal people to gain acknowledgment of prior ownership of this land both legally and morally and allowing all the accompanying rights and obligations which stem from this association. *

Missions - Areas originally set up and governed by different religious denominations for Aboriginal People to live. Today some people use the term to refer to Aboriginal housing developments. The terms "reserves" and "stations" are used as well. *

Native title- Form of land title which recognises Aboriginal people as rightful owners of that land. *

Racism- Set of beliefs, often negative, held by one group of people or individuals, about another group of people or individuals and based on the perceived racial characteristics of that group or individual. Racism in Australia takes on many forms - attitudinal, institutional and cultural. *

Reconciliation - A Commonwealth initiative to promote reconciliation between Indigenous people and the wider community and to redress Indigenous disadvantage, with an original target date of 2001. *

Reserves - Areas of land reserved by the Crown for Aboriginal people in the 19th century. Much of this land was later taken form Aboriginal people again. Until the 1970s the remaining reserves were administered and controlled by government. See also missions and stations as these terms are also used. *

Stations- Living areas established by governments for Aboriginal people on which managers and matrons controlled (and 'cared for') Indigenous people. *

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 an original 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. *

Sources include Australian Museum*