From our perspective ...

In Australia, there are two unique cultures of Indigenous people - (i) Aboriginals (from mainland Australia, and (ii) Torres Strait Islanders (from the islands in the Torres Strait). We generally refer to ourselves as "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people", although the terminology has changed over the past 50 years.

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For an overview of what happened to 99% of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, please visit the The Ration Shed Museum in Cherbourg, Queensland - and read through the narrative, which can also be accessed here. 

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Since Australia has been colonised, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have endured multiple attempts of genocide, internal ethnic cleansing and other colonial practices resulting in

- higher rates of mortality and chronic disease

- higher rates of incarceration

- lower chances of economic stability

- increasing rates of our children being institutionalised by the system known as "state care".

- multi-generational institutionalisation

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