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Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander)

Family calls for justice, explanation of how their brother died in police custody

Police body cam played in court, showing the final moments Mr George was seen alive as he was led to a watch house cell. More than an hour later police checked on him and found his body.
Aboriginal woman talking to reporters flanked by family

Father and son hip-hop artists spread message of hope

Award-winning Perth musician Flewnt is touring regional Western Australia with his 11-year-old son — and fellow hip-hop artist — Inkabee. Their message for young people? Chase your dreams.
Father and son hip-hop artists.

The saltwater custodians keeping the Indigenous stories alive

Long before the Opera House was built, Sydney Harbour sustained Australia's first inhabitants for thousands of years.
ABC News Current
Duration: 3 minutes 34 seconds

Politicians in two states have changed their stance on treaties since the Voice

How best to address inequality experienced by Indigenous people is again front and centre for politicians, after a long post-Voice referendum hiatus.
A group of protestors hold up signs saying 'always was always will be Aboriginal land', coloured in as Aboriginal flags.

'A horrid scam on the Indigenous community': Government to pay thousands of families after funeral insurance 'fiasco'

Thousands of Australians who collectively lost millions of dollars to failed funeral insurer Youpla could now get some of their money back, under a newly announced government scheme.
Updated
Cheryl Fernando and Donald Craigie

Report recommends more funding to Indigenous-run organisations

The Productivity Commission says governments are unwilling to hand money to Indigenous-run organisations and where the money is going remains unclear.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 3 seconds

Mining giant blocked from port expansion in High Court win for native title holders

The High Court rules in favour of native title holders in the Northern Territory preventing mining giant Glencore from expanding a critical part of its large zinc and lead mine on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Updated
An aerial image of a port on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria near Borroloola.

Review criticises governments on 'stagnant' Closing the Gap strategies

The Productivity Commission says governments have only 'relabelled' business as usual and are failing to make meaningful progress.
ABC News Current
Duration: 7 minutes 54 seconds

One of Australia's largest Indigenous corporations is being investigated. Here's why

An Aboriginal corporation in the remote Northern Territory town of Tennant Creek is facing allegations it misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funding. 
Updated
Julalikari Corporation property in Tennant Creek

'I heard this terrible screaming': Five years on, has anything changed since 13 children and young people died by suicide?

It's been five years since an inquest laid bare the chaotic lives of children, including a 10-year-old girl, who took their own lives in outback Australia. Are kids any safer now? 
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suicide inquest graphic

Commission's first review reveals 'tokenistic' Closing the Gap strategies falling short

The commission also that found that if governments continue to put money towards programs that don't align with what the community is saying will work, then governments will continue to allocate public money ineffectively.
Updated
Two dancer embrace holding eucalyptus leaves

PM says government is 'looking for other ways to bring about' progress on Closing the Gap targets

Anthony Albanese has denied his government has failed to outline a way forward on Indigenous policy following last year's unsuccessful Voice referendum.
Updated
Anthony Albanese, wearing a hat, walks among indigenous performers.

'A compliment and a whack': Prime ministers reflect on Lowitja's legacy

The late Lowitja O'Donoghue is being remembered for her trailblazing spirit, with leaders acknowledging she changed Australia's relationship with Indigenous affairs.
A close up of an Indigenous Australian woman sitting and smiling indoors, with other people sitting behind her

Tributes flow for Indigenous advocate Lowitja O'Donoghue

Dr O'Donoghue is being remembered as a fearsome advocate who inspired a generation of Aboriginal people.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 11 seconds

Inquiry into rates of Indigenous incarceration to begin in ACT

Advocates say the review needs to look beyond the justice system to truly understand the over-representation of Indigenous people in prisons.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 55 seconds

'The story of the truth of Australia': Prominent Australians pay tribute to Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue

Prominent leaders have united in sympathy to pay their respects to one of the nation's most acclaimed and admired Indigenous leaders, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this story includes images of an Indigenous person who has died.
Updated
Lowitja smiling

Just two per cent of the ACT's population are Indigenous, yet a quarter of Canberra's prisoners are First Nations people

The independent review will first assess how the ACT has acted on previous recommendations and then offer practical measures to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates. 
Updated
Cell door

Linda Burney pays tribute to celebrated Indigenous leader, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney says celebrated Indigenous leader, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue's legacy will be felt for generations to come.
ABC News Current
Duration: 3 minutes 10 seconds

'I'm pretty desensitised now': One year since alcohol bans returned, Alice Springs looks to future

A year on from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to Alice Springs, progress on alcohol-related harm and violence remains an uphill battle.
Updated
Empty liquor bottles and cans lay in the dry Todd River.

Indigenous rights champion Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue dies at 91

The former Australian of the Year was one of the most celebrated First Nations leaders who fought endlessly for the rights of her people.
Updated
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 18 seconds

Lowitja O'Donoghue dies age 91

Yankunytjatjara woman and Indigenous activist, Lowitja O'Donoghue, has died at the age of 91.
Updated
ABC News Current
Duration: 8 minutes 42 seconds

Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue remembered as 'one of the most remarkable leaders this country has ever known'

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this story includes images of an Indigenous person who has died. Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, who fought endlessly for the rights of her people, has died aged 91.
Updated
Lowitja smiling

Authors say booksellers play a critical role in sharing diverse stories and can make or break careers

The cultural role of bookshops is in the spotlight after the owner of Victoria's oldest independent bookshop posted on social media, calling for "kids picture books with just white kids on the cover". Authors, booksellers and a publisher on the power of booksellers.
Anita Heiss dressed in a pink suit jacket, pink glasses and a pink and purple headband holding up one of her children's books

The shocking death of a 16-year-old in police custody 40 years ago continues to reverberate in this outback town

John Pat's death at just 16 inside an outback police lock-up sparked national outrage and a royal commission. Forty years later, what is his legacy in his hometown?
A collage of printed colour photos of a brown red outback town

On this remote island, the justice system has been tailored to better suit its Indigenous population

Almost two years since the NT's Aboriginal Justice Agreement was signed, the first Community Court and local Law and Justice Group has been established on Groote Eylandt, marking a new era in the territory's justice system.
A group of two adults and two children carry green bags along a dirt road in a remote community