Wikipedia:WikiProject Australia/Conventions/Indigenous draft
The following guidelines are intended to apply to all references to people as of May 2022[update] referred to as Indigenous Australians, ie. all people descended from members of the various nations that occupied the continent and islands of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands, before the British colonisation of Australia from 1788. It is an attempt to codify preferred usage when referring to such people throughout Wikipedia. For background reading on the work that lead to this style guide, see sources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander terminology.
Definitions[edit]
As per those articles listed in the sources which provide such definitions, noting that while many Indigenous peoples were displaced during the colonisation era, their descendants still inhabit the same areas today:
- Indigenous Australians (aka Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, see below under Terminology[1]) are the peoples who inhabited the continent of Australia and its islands before British colonisation, including Tasmania, Hinchinbrook Island, Fraser Island, the Tiwi Islands, Groote Eylandt and other islands off Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Torres Strait Islands, and various other islands which were inhabited before the arrival of the British.[Note 1] Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically Melanesian and the Torres Strait Islands, while part of Queensland, are partly administered by a different authority from the rest of Australia.
- Aboriginal Australians are the Indigenous peoples of mainland Australia, Tasmania, Hinchinbrook Island, Fraser Island,[3] the Tiwi Islands, Groote Eylandt, and other islands of the Northern Territory, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands.
Terminology[edit]
- Use individual's preference if stated in source.[1]
- Use specific group descriptor as referred to in the source, such as Koori, Nunga, Gunditjamara, Gadigal, Kaurna. However, descriptive terms such as "saltwater", "freshwater" or "desert people" should only be used when quoting (with the exception of "spinifex people", also known as the Pila Nguru[Note 2]).[1]
- Torres Strait Islander people prefer to use the name of their home island to identify themselves to outsiders, even when born and raised in mainland Australia, such as Saibai for someone from Saibai Island, or Meriam for someone from Mer.[1]
- As a generic term, "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people(s)" is preferred over "Indigenous Australians",[1] but only use the generic term when referring specifically to a group including both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, or when one or the other is not clear from the source.
- Blackfella and whitefella are generally non-offensive but should be used with care, and besides this are colloquial and so should usually only be used in quotations.
Placenames[edit]
When known, Indigenous placenames should be included in the lead directly after the English name in this format:
- Where possible include details including the language, IPA pronunciation, and citations.
- Include the placename within the infobox by using the "native_name" module.
- The meaning of the name can be explained in the Etymology or History section.
- Do not describe the placename as in "Aboriginal" language, refer to the actual language eg. Boonwurrung, or state that it is "in an unknown Aboriginal language". This is because there are hundreds of Aboriginal languages and not one "Aboriginal" language.
Spelling[edit]
Spelling of Aboriginal placenames, languages, ethnic groups, and other terms, is a very controversial topic within Aboriginal communities. For the purposes of Wikipedia refer to AIATSIS?
Terminology of groups[edit]
Aboriginal ethnic groups are often defined by their language, country, moiety system, and totemic class, among other aspects of Culture. Western anthropological terms are often not used, or used with different meanings.
Hierarchy of terms:
- Aboriginal people
- Regional grouping - a grouping of peoples that communities have agreed upon that covers a large geographic area eg. Koori
- Nation - refers to a traditional grouping of distinct peoples - eg. Kulin nation
- People - refers to an ethnic group often with a distinct language and distinct lands. The name of the people is often but not always the same as their traditional language.
- eg. Wurundjeri peoples (of the Woiwurrung language)
- Clan - may refer to a people as above, or a smaller grouping of families within a "people". eg. Yalukit-willam. Western anthropologists would perhaps classify this group as a "band" but that term is rarely if ever used.
While some legal or government acts may refer to "tribes", this term is generally frowned upon outside of that context. https://www.deadlystory.com/page/tools/aboriginal-cultural-support-planning/cultural-planning---frequently-asked-questions/what-is-the-difference-between-mob-clan-tribe-language-group
Capitalisation[edit]
Capitalisation is always used for the following terms:
- Aboriginal and Indigenous, when referring to people, are always capitalised.
- The Dreaming (or Dreamtime), is capitalised to distinguish the specific meaning in Aboriginal culture, rather than the usual dictionary definitions.
Capitalisation is also often used in contemporary sources when referring to other terms, such as:
- Culture
- Law / lore
- Country
- Language
- Traditional owners
- Nations
However the Wikipedia manual of style does not support capitalisation for these terms.
Deprecated terminology[edit]
Some terms that are commonly seen in primary sources are now considered slurs and should be avoided or removed. While some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may use these terms themselves, they are generally seen as offensive, and so should only be used within quotations or in a particular context where a whole Indigenous community specifically continues to use that term and does not see it as offensive.
- Aborigine
- Natives
- Savage
- Tribal
- Primitive
- Prehistoric
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands were apparently uninhabited at the time of settlement, although the descendants of the Cocos Malays who were brought to the islands by the first settler, Alexander Hare, are as of 2019[update] seeking recognition from the Australian Federal Government to be acknowledged as Indigenous Australians.[2]
- ^ This term is listed as an exception because of the article. May need further discussion.
- ^ The spelling pronunciation /ˈmɛlbɔːrn/ MEL-born is also accepted within British Received Pronunciation and General American English. In Australian English, ⟨our⟩ in the second syllable always stands for the reduced /ər/ as in "labour".[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Indigenous Australians: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 21 Mar 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Herriman, Nicholas; Irving, David R.M.; Acciaioli, Greg; Winarnita, Monika; Kinajil, Trixie Tangit (25 June 2018). "A group of Southeast Asian descendants wants to be recognised as Indigenous Australians". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ Preferences in terminology when referring to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples (PDF). Gulanga Good Practice Guides. ACT Council of Social Service Inc. December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 9781405881180; Butler, S., ed. (2013). "Melbourne". Macquarie Dictionary (6th ed.). Sydney: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-18-7642-966-9.
- ^ Nicholson, Mandy; Jones, David (2020). "Wurundjeri-al Narrm-u (Wurundjeri's Melbourne): Aboriginal living heritage in Australia's urban landscapes". The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-48647-0. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ "Melbourne Collection". Welcome to Country.
- ^ "12 ways to reflect on World Heritage Day". Melbourne Magazine. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-23.