A note on terminology

While acknowledging the diversity among and between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in this book the terms “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”, “Indigenous people”, “Indigenous communities”, and “First Nations” peoples and communities are all used.

The editors acknowledge that for some members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the term “Indigenous” is too generic, referring to Indigenous peoples all over the world. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples seek to be named in ways that do not erase the particular experiences of Australian colonial racism and violence which sought to dispossess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their lands. The term “Aboriginal” may have been imposed, but many Aboriginal people use it because it means “original inhabitants”. We also acknowledge here that there is a difference between identifying as an Aboriginal person and as a Torres Strait Islander person. Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have different languages and cultures

Similarly, while the term “First Nations” is increasingly used on media and social media platforms, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view it as a term derived from Canada and the Americas, used to refer specifically to Native American and Canadian Aboriginal peoples (see Bidjara/Birri Gubba and Juru scholar, Professor Jackie Huggins’ acclaimed work, Sistergirl: Reflections on Tiddaism, identity and reconciliation, UQP 2022, p. 216).

In some instances, we have maintained the use of the term “First Nations” used by contributors, particularly where it seeks to foreground the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be recognised as the first and original inhabitants of the territories we call “Australia”.

We recognise that it is best practice, where it is known and appropriate, to use the preferred ways that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identify, that is, in ways that reinforce their relation to Country or language group, for example, as Bundjalung, Nunukal, Arrente, or Wiradjuri people. Such forms of naming occur throughout this book.

Throughout this Handbook, contributors have sought not only to observe, but to model, these protocols when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

For more information, please see Terminology, Language and Naming in The Language of Relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.