Identity

Aboriginal people are the original people of Australia [1]. At the time of European settlement there were over 250 separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social groups or communities, each having their own culture, language and traditions [2]. Identity is more than just what ‘race’ a person is. It includes cultural values and practices including art, dance, legends, rituals and customs, as well as language [3]. Other components that go together to make up identity include family, traditions and country [4].

References

Malaspinas, A., Westaway, M.C., Muller, Craig, Sousa, V.C., Lao, O., Alves, I., Bergström, A., Athanasiadis, G., Cheng, J.Y., Crawford, J.E., Heupink, T.H., Macholdt, E., Peischl, S., Rasmussen, S., Schiffels, S., Subramanian, S., Wright, J.L., Albrechtsen, A., Barbieri, C., Dupanloup, I., Eriksson, A., Margaryan, A., Moltke, I., Pugach, I., Korneliussen, T.S., Levkivskyi, I.P., Moreno-Mayar, J.V., Ni, S., Racimo, F., Sikora, M., Xue, Y., Aghakhanian, F.A., Brucato, N., Brunak, S., Campos, P.F., Clark, W., Ellingvåg, S., Fourmile, G., Gerbault, P., Injie, D., Koki, G., Leavesley, M., Logan, B., Lynch, A., Matisoo-Smith, E.A., McAllister, P.J., Mentzer, A.J., Metspalu, M., Migliano, A.B., Murgha, L., Phipps, M.E., Pomat, W., Reynolds, D., Ricaut, F., Siba, P., Thomas, M.G., Wales, T., Wall, C.M., Oppenheimer, S.J., Tyler-Smith, C., Durbin, R., Dortch, J., Manica, A., Schierup, M.H., Foley, R.A., Lahr, M.M., Bowern, C., Wall, J.D., Mailund, T., Stoneking, M., Nielsen, R., Sandhu, M.S., Excoffier, L., Lambert, D.M., Willerslev, E. (2016). A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia. Nature, 538(7624), 207-214. 10.1038/nature18299

New South Wales Department of Health (2019). Communicating positively: a guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology. Sydney: New South Wales Department of Health.

Marmion, D., Obata, K., Troy, J. (2014). Community, identity, wellbeing: the report of the second national Indigenous languages survey. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Larkins, S. (2010). Strengthening culture, strengthening identity: Keys to healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people and securing their social and emotional wellbeing. Family Relationships Quarterly(17), 10-13

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