Many Australian Aboriginal people dislike the term "Aborigines"
because it has been imposed on them during the course of colonisation.
Some also dislike "Aboriginal", although it is widely used
(though preferably as an adjective, as in "Aboriginal peoples").
There has therefore been a widespread adoption in many parts of Australia
of alternative words, usually the word for "person" from
a local indigenous language.
For example, the word "koori" has become used extensively
across south eastern Australia. Some languages of south-east Australia
(parts of New South Wales and Victoria) had a word - coorie, kory,
kuri, kooli, koole - which meant 'person' or 'people'. The word
koori was recorded as early as 1886, being in used by the Aborigines
from the Riverina and Victorian regions. In the 1960s it came to be
used in the form koori by Aborigines of these areas to mean
'Aboriginal people' or 'Aboriginal person'.
In other regions different words have been adopted: Murri over most
of south and central Queensland, Bama in north Queensland, Nunga in
southern South Australia, Noongar (Nyoongah) around Perth, Wongi in
the Kalgoorlie region, Yolngu in Arnhem Land, Anangu in central Australia,
Yuin on the south coast of New South Wales and Palawa in Tasmania.
Source: Australian National Dictionary Centre
Relevant Web Links:
Aboriginal
Studies WWW Virtual Library
Aboriginal
Languages of Australia
Murri
sites on the Net
KooriNet
Noongar
Nation
Aborigines
or Aboriginal - Which Word to Use?
