Indigenous Information Sources: General web resources
Web resources for Indigenous grey literature and primary resources, statistics, and data
In addition to the scholarly resources that the library provides through its collections and online databases, you may also need to source resources from websites, such as policy documents and reports (often called 'grey literature'). statistics, data and primary source materials.
Below are links to key peak Indigenous organisations, government sites and archival collections - all play a role in collating a wide range of information relating to Australia's First Nations peoples.
Please note that some of these sites may contain names and/or images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Of course, this is just the beginning and a well constructed search in Google will identify many more potential sources. Also look at our Advanced Google search tab for tips to target your search for quality reports and policy documents on the web.
Note: When looking for sources related to First Nations people you should preface sources written by or reflecting the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Please view our Respecting Indigneous Knowledges tab for more guidance on this.
See our Health resources tab in this guide for specific tips on locating Indigenous health information sources.
An important place to begin your exploration of Indigenous information sources is through the perspective of Indigenous Australians from within organisations and public websites they play a central key role in developing.
Here are some of the core Indigenous sites to get you going:
- Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI)Aims to support sustainable systems of self-governance for Indigenous Australian communities. Core resources include a "Indigenous Governance Tool Kit" which includes links to peak Indigenous self-governance organisations. The resources area provide examples and further links to resources and organisations that support best practice self -governance.
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander StudiesOne of the major roles of AIATSIS is to preserve and look after the heritage and living culture of Indigenous Australians. The site includes:
* Digitised collections and online exhibitions focused on important events such as the Referendum, Freedom Ride and Day of Mourning.
*The MURA catalogue of Indigenous content including family history and language resources
* Guides and resources to collections, subject areas and AIATSIS research focus areas and publications. - Our LanguagesDirectory to Indigenous Language Centers, community programs and language resources.
- South West Aboriginal Land and Sea CouncilA native title service provider to the Noongar People of the South West of Western Australia. Aims to progress the native title claims and preserve the culture, language and heritage of Noongar society.
Indigenous Cultural Sources
These resources have been developed by or in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative to help contribute to an understanding of the richness of First Nation peoples cultural beliefs, their connection to land and community and their ongoing efforts for recognition as the First Australians.
- Reconciliation Australia - Share our Pride: This site provides a range of ways you can learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history and includes a bibliography of recommended resources for further exploration. The Reconciliation Australia site itself supports the development of Action Plans and events that support Reconciliation.
- The Little Red Yellow Black Website: based on the book of the same name, this online gateway looks at key aspects of Aboriginal culture as well as the history of resistance, reconciliation and participation. (Find the print version of the third edition in our Libraries)
Indigenous News Sources
In addition to these openly accessible resources listed below, do also consider the specialist media databases we provide as outlined in Databases: Primary Sources.
Also see our Newspaper and News Sources Library Guide.
- ABC Indigenous Home PageThe ABC Indigenous portal aggregates Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander stories from around the ABC & around Australia.
- The Conversation - Indigenous KnowledgeIndigenous Knowledge has been set up as an institution on The Conversation’s platform so we can feature Indigenous knowledge that exists outside formal university settings.
- National Indigenous Television (NITV)A searchable sub-section of the SBS website that allows you to review NITV programming and radio as well as collating other news and media on SBS on Indigenous issues.
- The Koori MailThe Voice of Indigenous Australia
- National Indigenous TimesAustralia's leading Indigenous news organization, bringing you the latest news and views on Indigenous affairs.
West Australian Government Sites
- Aboriginal affairs - WA Govt DirectoryProvides a summary of key services relating to Aboriginal culture, heritage, health, welfare and reconciliation with links to the relevant Government Department website.
Australian Government Sites
- Australian Bureau of Statistics - ATSI PeoplesThis section of the ABS collates a range of statistics related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Australian Coronial Law LibraryA library of databases of Australian coronial law accessible via the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII)
- Australian Government - Indigenous Polices, ProgramsConnecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with Australian Government services and initiatives around jobs, land, economy, well-being and culture.
Includes a link to the Deparment of Prime Minister and Cabinet's Indigenous Affairs initiatives together with the policy documents and related resources and services.
University and Partner Sources
- The Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Resources and Statistics CBPATSISPEstablished to develop and share evidence about effective suicide prevention approaches for Indigenous people and communities.
- HASS and Indigenous Research Data CommonsDigital platforms and data directories to assist researchers discover and access Australia’s humanities, arts, and social science (HASS) and Indigenous data and innovative analysis tools.
- The Indigenous Data Network Catalogue projectThe Indigenous Data Network was established to support and coordinate the governance of Indigenous data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to decide their own local data priorities.
- Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing AtlasA freely available data asset that maps information on children and young people aged 0 to 24 in communities across Australia. This enables the visualisation, analysis, and monitoring of health and wellbeing metrics for children and young people.
Libraries, Museums and Archives
Our National and State Libraries, Museums and Government archives represent rich and important primary sources as well as curated collections and exhibitions about Australia's Indigenous people and our shared history. Here are some of our peak National bodies and important Western Australian (WA) state based collections.
National & WA State Collections
- The National Archives of AustraliaResponsible for collecting the National Government records and archives, including Indigenous Fact Sheets providing an introduction.
- National Library of Australia - TroveTrove allows you to search the collections of the National Library and State Libraries across Australia as well as many other collections for Indigenous published and unpublished historical and contemporary content. .
- National Museum AustraliaCollects and curates Indigenous histories and culture, such as the First Australians - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander permanent exhibition and resources.
- State Library of Western Australia - Indigenous CollectionIncludes the StoryLines Project building and contributing to Aboriginal stories, as well as Indigenous Oral Histories and the Indigenous Music collection and Family History resources and events.
- State Records Office of Western AustraliaThe State Records Office holds historical sets of records from Colonial and State government agencies that document interaction with Aboriginal people throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries.
- UWA Berndt MuseumHoused at The University of Western Australia, the Berndt Museum is an Indigenous-led institution that holds one of the most significant collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural material in the world.
As part of your research, you will likely need to find grey literature, such as government reports, policy documents and fact sheets. Often these will be made available on the web as PDF documents.
For example, you can set Google to only search Australian government sites (.gov.au), and PDF file types.
Add to your regular search terms in the Google Search box:
site:.gov.au filetype:pdf
For example:
"indigenous communities" "mental health" site:.gov.au filetype:pdf
Google has an Advanced search box to make it easier to tailor your search.
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