Key databases
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, students and staff are advised that material in this library may contain names and images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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AEI-ATSIS (subset)Material from the Australian Educational Index (AEI) database referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.
Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this database may contain names, images and voices of people who have died. -
AHB-ATSIS (subset)Information relating to the natural and cultural environment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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AIATSISThe AIATSIS Indigenous Studies Bibliography database indexes published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous studies.
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APAIS-ATSIS (subset)Articles on the social sciences and humanities relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
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Indigenous AustraliaThe Indigenous Australia database represents the collections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Library.
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Indigenous CollectionThe Informit Indigenous Collection covers a range of subjects within an indigenous context including health, land rights, culture, law and education.
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MAIS-ATSIS (subset)Multicultural issues database relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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BlackWords -- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writers and StorytellersInformation about the lives, careers, and works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and storytellers and the literary cultures and traditions that formed and influenced them.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, students and staff are advised that material in this library may contain names and images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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ATSIHealthThe ATSIHealth database that indexes published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous health.
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Health & Society (subset)Health & Society Database contains abstracts regarding research, policy & practice topics relevant to Australian families.
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Health and Society in VideoHealth & Society in Video contains current medical documentaries, profiles, reports & interviews.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, students and staff are advised that material in this library may contain names and images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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AGIS-ATSIS (subset)The AGIS-ATSIS subset of the AGIS database indexes and abstracts articles from Australian, New Zealand, Pacific and selected international law journals on aspects of the law that relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Australian Indigenous Law LibraryThis resource includes legislation, case-law, government reports, scholarly research and treaties.
Books and ebooks
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Aboriginal Australians : a history since 1788 by Publication Date: 2010A powerful history of black and white encounters in Australia since colonization. -
Aboriginal family and the state : the conditions of history by Publication Date: 2010This book examines the contemporary relations among and history of Indigenous families in Australia. -
The Aboriginal Gift: Spirituality for a Nation by Publication Date: 2015Explores the spiritual wisdom of Aboriginal people, still persisting into the present, and offers the proposal that the Aboriginal perspectives on spirituality might enrich the spirituality of other Australians. -
The beginner's guide to Australian Aboriginal art : the symbols, their meanings and some Dreamtime stories by Publication Date: 2009Introduction to Aboriginal art including symbols and their meanings, and brief accounts of 12 Dreaming stories. -
A Concise Companion to Aboriginal History by Publication Date: 2011This book provides an overview of Australian Aboriginal history from creation stories involving the Dreaming through to Aboriginal cultural and political activity in the 21st century. -
Dark Emu by Publication Date: 2014Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for precolonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing - behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. -
Inside Black Australia: an anthology of Aboriginal poetry by Publication Date: 1988This collection is a call for justice and the restoration of the land and the Dreaming. -
The Little Red Yellow Black Book by Publication Date: 2013An introduction to Australia's rich, indigenous culture, this pocket-sized guide is an invaluable resource for learning about the 60,000-year-old history of the country. Containing everything from history and rarely seen photographs to information on traveling respectfully, the content is written by indigenous people and follows their cultural protocols and ethics. -
Plays from Black Australia by Publication Date: 1989Contains the following plays: The Dreamers (Jack Davis), Murras, Coordah (Richard Walley), The Keepers (Bob Maza). -
The stolen generations : the removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales, 1883 to 1969 (PDF, 320KB) by
Publication Date: 1998Ground-breaking paper on the Stolen Generations which documents the disruption of families when children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to state or church-run institutions, boarding homes, residential schools, and adoption programs. -
Talking to my country by Publication Date: 2016A very personal meditation on what it means to be Australian, what it means to be indigenous, and what racism really means in this country. It is not just about race, or about indigenous people but all of us, our shared identity. -
The Edge of Memory by Publication Date: 2019Patrick Nunn explores the science in folk history. He looks at ancient tales and traditions that may be rooted in scientifically verifiable fact, and can be explored via geological evidence, such as the Biblical Flood. The Edge of Memory is an important book that explores the wider implications for our knowledge of how human society has developed through the millennia.
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My Girragundji by Publication Date: 1998A young boy growing up in a large family and caught between Koori and white worlds, finds his attachment to a little tree frog gives him the courage to face his fears. -
Njunjul the Sun by Publication Date: 2002A 16-year-old Aboriginal boy leaves his family and home for the big city, and as he struggles to make sense of his experience he realises that he must have the knowledge of his own people and culture in order to know who he is. -
Possum and Wattle by Publication Date: 2009More than 100 words about Australian animals, plants, and landscapes are defined and explained in this unique word book. From blossoms and bees through wombats and willy willys, the most prominent aspects of Australia's beautiful landscape are detailed here. -
Shake a Leg by Publication Date: 2010From pizza shop to bora ground - a celebration of food, dance & cultural understanding. When three boys go to a pizza parlour & meet an Aboriginal chef who can speak Italian & make a deadly pizza, they're in for a surprise! -
Welcome to Country by Publication Date: 2016A generous Welcome to Country from a most respected Elder, Aunty Joy Murphy, beautifully given form by Indigenous artist Lisa Kennedy.
Web resources
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Creative SpiritsInformation about Aboriginal culture, as well as teacher and student resources.
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AIATSIS CollectionOnline catalogue of Australian Institute of Aborignal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
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AIATSIS map of Indigenous AustraliaThis interactive map attempts to represent all the language, tribal or nation groups of the Aboriginal people of Australia.
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The Koori Mail (digitised collection)Online archive for the Koori Mail – Australia’s fortnightly national Indigenous newspaper. Coverage is from 1991 - current.
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SBS: NITVNational Indigenous Television including news and programs produced primarily by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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ByalawaA video series about appropriate culturally safe interviewing and case history-taking skills when working with indigenous clients.
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Open for Business: Developing Indigenous Enterprises in AustraliaHouse of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, 2008
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Last reviewed: 2 July, 2020