The Pan-Aboriginal Identity

Indigenous Australian people have been on this continent for more than 40,000 years. Australia is home to hundreds of nations, each with distinct cultural practices, beliefs and languages. Their culture, economies and identities are linked closely and spiritually to the environment on which it emerged. Their geographic location contributes to cultural diversity as Aboriginal groups retain a unique affinity to land. Heritage is shaped by knowledge systems that are specific to the Country they occupy. However, in 1788, the Torres Strait – compromised of five distinct Aboriginal communities – was infiltrated with colonization and diminished cultural diversity by inflicting a Pan-Aboriginal identity. Indigenous people were aggregated under one category subjected to similar patterns of colonialism and governmental treatment.