'Nation', 'community', 'people', 'mob' or the local language or Page 3 culture group name is usually preferable to 'tribe'. 'Mob' is an Aboriginal English word and as such may be more appropriate, but community acceptance may be required before using this word.
Bunji: Means friend/mate. Cooee: Is actually a widely used Aboriginal word that is often unknowingly used by non Indigenous people. But luckily they have been using the word correctly as the word means 'come here' in the Dharug language from the South Western areas of Sydney.
Mob. Colloquially used to mean a group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or "Country". It is used to connect and identify the person and where they are from. "My mob" means my people, or extended family.
Today, the term 'Indigenous Australian' is used to encompass both Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people. However many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not like to be referred to as 'Indigenous' as the term is considered too generic.
The term Native is often used officially or unofficially to describe indigenous peoples from the United States (Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives), but it can also serve as a specific descriptor (Native people, Native lands, Native traditions, etc.).
However, those with Indigenous ancestry might use the term to refer to themselves or other Indigenous peoples. 'First Nations,''Aboriginal,' and more recently, 'Indigenous' are more current and are preferred by many in the community, though each has particular nuances.
Some common synonyms of indigenous are aboriginal, endemic, and native.
Aboriginal refers to the original peoples of mainland Australia.
Koori (or Koorie)
Koori is a term denoting an Aboriginal person of southern New South Wales or Victoria. 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal'. There are many other Aboriginal groups across Australia (such as Murri, Noongar, Yolngu) with which Indigenous Australians may identify themselves.
Some common synonyms of aboriginal are endemic, indigenous, and native. While all these words mean "belonging to a locality," aboriginal implies having no known others preceding in occupancy of a particular region.
And if you are talking about both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it's best to say either 'Indigenous Australians' or 'Indigenous people'. Without a capital “a”, “aboriginal” can refer to an Indigenous person from anywhere in the world. The word means “original inhabitant” in Latin.
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
"Koori" comes from the word gurri, meaning "man" or "people" in the Indigenous language Awabakal, spoken on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. On the far north coast of New South Wales, the term may still be spelt "goori" or "goorie" and pronounced with a harder "g".
Bunji: Aboriginal English for mate. Eg. “How're you doing bunji?” Corroboree: An assembly of sacred, festive or warlike character. Cooee: Meaning come here.
For example, both lesbian and heterosexual Aboriginal women may refer to themselves as 'sistergirls', 'sisters' or 'tiddas', which is an Aboriginal English term for the word 'sisters'.
(Australia, slang) A baby.
The word Nullah is a word for war club/hunting stick derived from the Dharug language.
Pap(a) is also found as 'mother', mainly in Victoria. Other kinship roots (for grandparents) have been shown to have a split distribution with one root dominating in the east and one in the west for what is apparently a single proto-meaning.
A nullah is a narrow valley.
'Aborigine' is a noun for an Aboriginal person (male or female).
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
Waratah is the Aboriginal word for 'Beautiful' -how they got this name is no surprise.
'Are you [is the person] of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin? ' Patients may be asked the question in person or over the phone, or asked to complete a form. It is important that the question is asked exactly as it is worded.
Indigenous cultural expression refers to: ways in which Indigenous communities express their traditional culture. ways that are part of their heritage or identity. ways that are passed down from generation to generation.