QCAA ATSI Studies flashcards
QCAA ATSI Studies · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Terra nullius
- A Latin legal doctrine meaning land belonging to no one, used to deny pre-existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights until the 1992 Mabo decision rejected it in Australian law.
- Mabo decision
- The 1992 High Court judgment in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that recognised native title in Australian common law and overturned the application of terra nullius.
- Native title
- A common law recognition of rights and interests held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples according to their traditional laws and customs, distinct from statutory land rights.
- Land rights
- Statutory grants of land or title to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations by Australian parliaments, for example the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 in the Northern Territory.
- 1967 referendum
- A constitutional amendment allowing the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people and to count them in the census, not a grant of voting rights or citizenship.
- Stolen Generations
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families under government policies, documented in the 1997 Bringing Them Home report.
- Bringing Them Home report
- The 1997 national inquiry report into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, which recommended reparation and a national apology.
- National Apology
- The formal apology delivered in the Australian Parliament in 2008 to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations, for past government policies.
- Closing the Gap
- A national policy framework with measurable targets addressing disparities in health, education, employment and justice between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.
- Self-determination
- A principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should control decisions, services and institutions affecting their communities, rather than having decisions imposed externally.
- Wik decision
- The 1996 High Court judgment finding that native title can coexist with pastoral leases, with the lease prevailing where rights conflict.
- Protection-era policies
- Government laws and practices, roughly the late 1800s to mid-1900s, that controlled Aboriginal people's movement, employment, marriage and children under the justification of protection.
- Assimilation policy
- A mid-20th-century policy approach expecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to adopt the cultural practices of the dominant settler society, later criticised for erasing cultural identity.
- Voice referendum 2023
- A national referendum proposing constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through an advisory Voice to Parliament, which was not carried.
- Frontier conflict
- Violent encounters between Aboriginal peoples and settlers and colonial forces during colonial expansion, resulting in dispossession, displacement and deaths across many regions.
- Aboriginal flag symbolism
- Black represents the people, red ochre represents land and spiritual connection, and the yellow circle represents the sun as giver of life.
- Torres Strait Islander flag
- Green for land, blue for sea, black for the people, white dhari headdress for identity, and a five-pointed star for the major island groups.
- Torres Strait Islander peoples
- A distinct Melanesian-related people of the Torres Strait islands with separate languages, histories, cultural practices and identity from Aboriginal peoples of mainland Australia.
- The Dreaming
- Creation narratives and an ongoing spiritual order that shapes law, kinship, ceremony and obligations to Country in the present, not merely a past event.
- Connection to Country
- A holistic relationship of kinship, law, ceremony and responsibility for land and waters, rather than a concept of land as exclusive property.
- Kinship systems
- Complex systems of relatedness that define roles, obligations, marriage rules and responsibility for caring for people and Country within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies.
- Country
- In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander usage, the land, waters and sky to which a person holds ancestral, spiritual and custodial responsibilities.
- Elders
- Recognised knowledge holders within a community who hold authority to share cultural knowledge and guide decisions, with authority specific to their own group and place.
- Language groups
- Distinct Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples identified by their own language, Country and law, numbering in the hundreds before colonisation.
- Welcome to Country
- A formal greeting offered by a Traditional Owner or Elder of the local Country where an event occurs, welcoming visitors to that specific land.
- Acknowledgement of Country
- A statement by any person, including non-Indigenous people, recognising Traditional Owners and their continuing connection to the land where an event takes place.
- Traditional Owners
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples with recognised ancestral and custodial responsibilities for particular Country, determined through their own law and custom.
- Cultural safety
- An approach ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples feel respected and safe in services and research, with power shared and cultural knowledge valued.
- Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property
- Rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over their cultural knowledge, stories, designs, language and heritage, which Australian intellectual property law may not fully protect.
- Free, prior and informed consent
- A standard requiring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive complete information and give consent before research or projects affecting their communities proceed.
- Community-controlled organisations
- Services and bodies governed and run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, embodying self-determination and culturally appropriate service delivery.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander terminology
- Formal usage capitalises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander as proper nouns and prefers the inclusive phrase 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' over generic collective labels.