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Revision as of 05:16, 2 May 2008

This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law. For more general information on Australian Aborigines go to Indigenous Australians.

Australian Aborigines are a class of peoples who are identified by Australian law as being members of a race indigenous to the Australian continent.

From the High Court of Australia

In the High Court of Australia, Australian Aborigines have been specifically identified as a class of people who share, in common, biological ancestry back to the original occupants of this continent .

Justice Dean of the High Court famously described and defined an Australian Aboriginal person as:

"..a person of Aboriginal descent, albeit mixed, who identifies himself as such and who is recognised by the Aboriginal community as an Aboriginal.."

From Australian Aborigines

Eve Fesi, an Australian Aborigine from the Gabi Gabi people, published in the Aboriginal Law Bulletin describing how she and other Australian Aborigines preferred to be identified:

"The word 'aborigine' refers to an indigenous person of any country. If it is to be used to refer to us as a specific group of people, it should be spelt with a capital 'A', i.e. 'Aborigine'..."

More recently, Lowitja O'Donoghue AC, CBE, commenting on the prospect of possible amendments to Australia's constitution, advised as follows:

"I really can't tell you of a time when 'indigenous' became current, but I personally have an objection to it, and so do many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people... This has just really crept up on us ... like thieves in the night."

"We are very happy with our involvement with indigenous people around the world, on the international forum ... because they're our brothers and sisters...But we do object to it being used here in Australia."

See also

• Australian Aboriginal flag
• Indigenous Australians
• Native title

External links

• PLEVITZ, Loretta D & CROFT, Larry (2003) "Aboriginality Under The Microscope: The Biological Descent Test In Australian Law" QUT Law & Justice Journal Number 7Accessed 25 March 2008

References

1. Plevitz, Loretta D & Croft, Larry (2003) "Aboriginality Under The Microscope: The Biological Descent Test In Australian Law" QUT Law & Justice Journal Number 7Accessed 25 March 2008
2. Dean, J (1984) Tasmania v Commonwealth. 158 CLR. Page 243.
3. Fesi, Eve (1986) "‘Aborigine’ and ‘Aboriginal’" Aboriginal Law Bulletin. Number 39. Accessed 25 March 2008
4. SALNA, Karlis (2008) "Call us Aboriginal - ATSIC chair". The Australian. 1 May 2008 Accessed 2 May 2008

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