Working with ATSI people and communities

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	Question	Answer
1	How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are there in Australia today?	410,000 people identified as ‘Indigenous’ in the 2001 Census. 26,000 were Torres Strait Islanders. • 18,000 identified themselves as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. In 2001, Indigenous people made up 2.2% of the total population of Australia.
2	What is an elder?	Elders are respected members of the Aboriginal community with whom their community rely upon to give advice and pass on knowledge. The traditional meaning of an Aboriginal Elder is someone who has gained recognition within their community as a custodian of knowledge and lore and who has permission to disclose cultural knowledge and beliefs.
3	What is native title?	'Native title' is the name given by Australian law to Indigenous peoples' traditional rights to their lands and waters. To have their native title rights recognised. the Indigenous group has to prove they still have their connection with their country according to their traditional laws.
4	What are land rights?	Land rights are not the same thing as native title. Land rights are given by the government whereas native title existed before white occupation. A land rights grant may cover traditional land, an Aboriginal reserve, an Aboriginal mission or cemetery, Crown land or a national park. Native title only covers land on which the traditional relationship is unbroken.
5	What is the Mabo judgment?	The Mabo Case in 1992 was the first recognition of native title by the High Court of Australia. This decision rejected the doctrine of terra nullius. It recognised for the first time that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have maintained a continuing connection with their country, according to their traditions and customs, may hold native title.
6	What is the Wik case?	In the Wik Case in 1996 the High Court held that pastoral leases do not necessarily cancel out native title and that it could co-exist with the rights of some pastoralists.
7	What is Aboriginal reconciliation?	The movement for Aboriginal reconciliation aims to promote understanding of the history of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and develop better relations for the future. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established by legislation in 1991and was given a 10 year life span which ended in December 2000.
8	What are the terms used by Aboriginal people to describe each other?	These terms are used by Aboriginal people to describe each other according to their home country. It is a guide only: Koori/Goori – New South Wales / Victoria; Murri – Queensland; Nungah – South Australia Yolngu - Northern Territory (Arnhem land); Palawa - Tasmania; Noongar - southern Western Australia
9	How does the Federal Government define who is an Aboriginal?	The Federal Government defines an Aboriginal person as someone who: is of Aboriginal descent; identifies as an Aboriginal person; and is accepted as an Aboriginal person by the community in which he or she lives.