AustLit

'The Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later AIATSIS – the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) was established as a statutory authority in 1964. The Institute quickly established a film unit to act as an archive of filmed material and also to record material of ethnographic and historic significance. Part of this work also involved the preparation of films for public release, and until the early 1990s, the AIAS Film Unit became responsible for some of the most significant works of ethnographic film then produced in Australia. This collection of some thirty significant documentary works will be progressively released by Ronin Films in association with AIATSIS, where possible in re-mastered form and with associated interviews with filmmakers.' (Source: Ronin Films website)

'In 1988, the Jawoyn community in Barunga, Northern Territory, invited people from across Australia and the world to their annual Barunga Sport and Cultural Festival. Former Prime Minister the Hon. Bob Hawke along with Galarrwuy Yunupingu AM and Wenten Rubuntja AM, chairs of the Northern and Central Land Councils, accepted their invitation.

'At the festival, Yunupingu and Rubuntja presented Hawke with The Barunga Statement, a painted declaration that included the aspirations of ‘the Indigenous owners and occupiers of Australia’ and a request to the Australian Government and people to ‘recognise our rights’. The Statement was a product of extensive engagement between Aboriginal leaders in the Northern Territory and the Australian Government.'  (Introduction)

January 26 1938 marked the 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in Australia. For some this was a day to celebrate, for others a day to mourn. On that day a group of Aboriginal men and women gathered at Australia Hall in Sydney. The participants at the first Day of Mourning came from across Australia to continue a struggle that had begun 150 years previously. They met to move the following resolution:

"WE, representing THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA, assembled in conference at the Australian Hall, Sydney, on the 26th day of January, 1938, this being the 150th Anniversary of the Whiteman's seizure of our country, HEREBY MAKE PROTEST against the callous treatment of our people by the whitemen during the past 150 years, AND WE APPEAL to the Australian nation of today to make new laws for the education and care of Aborigines, we ask for a new policy which will raise our people TO FULL CITIZEN STATUS and EQUALITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY." (Introduction)

'On May 27, 1967, Australians voted in a referendum to change how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were referred to in the Constitution. Explore these personal stories, opinions and historical recordings of what happened.

'How far have we come since 1967? (Source: website)

Monthly e-newsletter gives an overview of activity from around the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, with links to all the latest news and events.

'The story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is a big one, and important for our nation. That it has been able to be told for 20 years and through 500 editions of the Koori Mail is a matter of enormous pride and privilege for my Bundjalung people. The Koori Mail's first edition was just 24 pages, all black and white (except for the masthead), and read by about 25,000 people. Today, the newspaper averages close to 100 pages, is alive with colour, and reaches more than 100,000 readers right around Australia every fortnight. If it involves our mob, you'll find it in the pages of the Koori Mail. The highs and the lows, the joy and the despair. From the grassroots of our communities to the big end of town and national affairs. But more than that, we also have a successful business that is owned and controlled by Aboriginal people. I'm proud to say that every cent of profit earned by the Koori Mail goes to Indigenous Australians, either as sponsorships and scholarships or dividends to the owning community organisations*.

The dividends received by the owning organisations help to keep us going - improvements for our properties, sponsoring trips for our kids, ensuring we meet cultural obligations ... the list goes on. To be the chairman of such an organisation is something that's deeply satisfying. But all this doesn't just happen. It's taken dedication and hard work to get where we are today. So I'd like to thank my fellow Board members, past and present, who have so ably represented the owning organisations and overseen the development of the Koori Mail. Equally, my thanks go to the management and staff who continue to produce a newspaper we are proud to call our own. And I'd also like to thank our readers for their ongoing loyalty and support. Without you, none of this would have been possible. Twenty years and 500 editions is a real achievement, and something we're proud of. But rest assured we won't be resting on our laurels. There's challenging times ahead for Indigenous Australia. Have no doubt the Koori Mail will be shining a light on them for another 20 years and beyond. I said at the beginning of this message that the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia was a big and important one. The Koori Mail Board is delighted that, with the help of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), we are now able to bring that story to life in digital form.
It is our gift to the nation.'

Russell Kapeen
Bundjalung man
Chairman, Koori Mail (since 1995)
Chairman, Kurrachee Co-operative

*The Koori Mail - 100 per cent Aboriginal owned and controlled - is situated on Bundjalung country on the far north coast of New South Wales. Its shareholders are five small Aboriginal organisations - the Bundjalung Tribal Society (Lismore), Bunjum Co-operative (Ballina/Cabbage Tree Island), Buyinbin Co-operative (Casino), Kurrachee Co-operative (Coraki) and Nungera Co-operative (Maclean).

'The Little Red Yellow Black Book is an accessible and highly illustrated pocket-sized guide. It's an invaluable introduction to Australia's rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture. It takes a non-chronological approach and is written from an Indigenous viewpoint. The themes that emerge are the importance of identity, and adaptation and continuity. If you want to read stories the media don't tell you, mini-essays on famous as well as everyday individuals and organisations will provide insights into a range of Australian Indigenous experiences.' (Publisher's blurb)

This website lists and links to the Indigenous Language and People bibliographies compiled by Access and Client Services staff from the Library at the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

(Source: AIATSIS website)

Aboriginal Sydney 'is both a guide book and an alternative social history, told through precincts of significance to the city’s Indigenous people.'

'The sites within the precincts, and their accompanying stories and photographs, evoke Sydney’s ancient past, and allow us all to celebrate the living Aboriginal culture of today.' (Source: Publisher's website)

The website for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). AIATSIS 'is the world's premier institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present. The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research, holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world's largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Indigenous Studies, and has its own publishing house. Its activities affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.'

Source: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) website, www.aiatsis.gov.au (sighted 23/11/2010)

The Native Title Research Unit (NTRU) is a provider of independent research and policy advice for the acknowledgement and protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander native title.