First Nations First

Senator Lidia Thorpe has defended her protest during the King's visit to Canberra. She says her calls for a treaty have garnered international attention, and has furthered the national conversation. But the headlines remain squarely on her eligibility as a senator. Listen to her full interview with SBS Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson about the controversy.

A traditional healing ceremony has been held in Darwin for the families of three US Marines who died during a training exercise over the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory. Around two dozen personnel were on board an Osprey aircraft when it crashed on the remote Melville Island, north of Darwin, in August last year.

A free community laundry service has seen encouraging results in reducing the prevalence of skin infections and scabies in remote Northern Territory communities. Untreated scabies infestations can lead to dangerous secondary infections, which can then be a factor in causing rheumatic heart disease.

Aboriginal tenants in Western Australia have launched a class action against state housing authorities, alleging severe neglect of their homes. It comes amid a housing crisis nationwide. The tenants are seeking justice for years of substandard living conditions, highlighting a need for accountability and urgent reforms.

The landmark report makes ten recommendations for federal, state and territory governments and calls on government to co-design solutions with First Nations communities. It's also called for a review into existing police practices in each jurisdiction.

Indigenous knowledge will - for the first time - be a focus of the Federal Government's set of scientific priorities. The National Science and Research Priorities will guide Australian science and research efforts for the next decade, replacing the current framework, published in 2015.

Australia's chief organisation for homelessness services says the situation is worsening for children and families in a report released to coincide with Homelessness Week (August 5-11). Homelessness Australia says First Nations children made up 32 per cent of homeless children nationally.

In her first TV interview since she was appointed as Federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy talks to NITV's John Paul Janke at the Garma Festival about her new role and the challenges she faces.

In Western Sydney, community leaders have convened to address the escalating prevalence of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Highlighting success stories and urgent needs, advocates pushed for enhanced access to affordable diabetes management technologies amid health disparities and systemic challenges.

Yessie Mosby is one of the so-called Torres Strait Eight, a group from the Pacific Islands which lodged a complaint with the UN Human Rights Council. Their complaint - that Australia is not doing enough to protect their people from climate change - was the first ever case of its kind. Mr Mosby - a Zenadh Kes Masig man - has been in Hawaii for the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture to connect wit...

Traditional owners are hoping to share a Tiwi Island delicacy with the world. The Mantiyupwi Clan are part of a world first trial in Black Lip Oyster Farming which they want to take to a global market in the next two years.

After 13 years of dedicated campaigning, the Awabakal community in New South Wales' Hunter region celebrates the protection of its sacred Butterfly Cave. The state government has purchased the land to create a National Park, preserving this historically significant Aboriginal women's site in West Wallsend.

A tiny beach shack on a remote Island in the Torres Strait has become one of the world’s most desired tourist destinations. After making it onto the Forbes top fifty places to visit - Badu Island has put the region on the global tourism map. Traditional Owners say the venture is helping them care for country and grow their island economy.

From rogue educators… to leaders in remote education. Yirrkala community leaders in the Northern Territory are celebrating 50 years of bilingual education at the local government School where elders and teachers defied government orders to dismantle the two- way education system.

A new research centre will draw on the traditional practices and knowledge used by generations of Indigenous communities to care for Australian land and maintain cultural heritage.

It has been nearly 30 years since a landmark report recommended appropriate redress schemes for Stolen Generations survivors. Advocates say the impacts from the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families - under government policies – continue until this very day. They are calling for urgent action to help Stolen Generations survivors.

The chief commissioner of Victoria Police has apologised to survivors of the Stolen Generation for the institution's role in the forcible removal of children from their families. The ongoing harm to Indigenous Australians caused by this practice was recognised at an emotional event.

The national group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has received dedicated funding for the first time in a federal budget, in a move welcomed by its CEO, Catherine Liddle.

The national group representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has welcomed a 10-year national plan to deliver better early childhood outcomes.

The founder of the First Nation’s music group “ Stiff Gins”, Nardi Simpson, is directing a cross cultural Choir in Sydney called Barayagal. It's a place where First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians gather to sing in the Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay languages. The choir is making songs inspired by culture, supported by musicians from the Sydney University Conservatorium of Music who are partici...

Australian Olympic athletes have received a major financial boost ahead of the Paris Games in July. The Australian Olympic Committee has announced three incentives to increase funding for athletes, with specific targets for First Nations competitors.

Reconciliation Australia and the University of New South Wales have produced a new collaborative report called 'Coming to Terms with the Past', which identifies the barriers and enablers to truth-telling and the strategies to promote historical acceptance. Uncle Garry Matthews is a proud older Gadigal man who has been advocating for truth-telling for decades. He has spoken with Youssef Saudie.

A new report has identified barriers to effective truth-telling between First Nations and non-Indigenous people. The research by University of New South Wales and Reconciliation Australia has sparked calls on further action from local councils and government departments to better their truth-telling processes.

More than 250 years after they were first taken, four spears, stolen by Captain James Cook and his crew after they arrived at Botany Bay, have been repatriated to their traditional owners. Representatives of the La Perouse Aboriginal Community traveled to Cambridge University in England where the artifacts, known as the ‘Gweagal Spears’ had been kept since 1771. It follows a 30-year campaign to se...

A flu outbreak in a Far North Queensland Indigenous community has put the issue of housing in the spotlight. The outbreak has also prompted a vaccination drive in the town of Yarrabah.