Explore
Family history
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Before you start Read about what you should know before you begin.
- Research step-by-step Follow our steps for doing family history research.
- Family history sources Learn about the different sources of family history information.
- Where to get help Access assistance in your state and territory.
Collection
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Search the Collection Search and explore the AIATSIS Collection of more than 1 million items related to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Featured collections Browse some of our featured collections which have been digitised as part of our ongoing preservation work.
- Using the Collection You can search the Collection online or visit the Stanner Reading Room to view or listen to collection items and conduct research.
- Caring for the Collection We have the largest and best contextualised collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage in the world, and it continues to grow.
- Donate to the Collection We welcome donations of unpublished materials relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, culture, knowledge, and experience.
Research
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Current projects Our research contributes to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and has a direct benefit to the communities we work with.
- Ethical research We provide leadership in ethics and protocols for research related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and collections.
- Indigenous Research Exchange We improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by ensuring there is more involvement and agency in research projects.
- Native title research and access service The Native Title Research and Access Service is your first stop for information about the native title resources in the AIATSIS collection.
- Research publications and reports We produce a range of publications and other resources derived from our research.
- Guides and resources We have produced a range of resources, databases, indexes, finding aids and reading lists to help you with your research and to find information in our Collection.
- AIATSIS Centre for Australian Languages Most of the estimated 250 Australian languages and 600-700 dialects are represented in our unrivalled language holdings.
Education
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Curriculum resources AIATSIS Education offers a growing bank of educational resources aligned with Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum.
- Schools program We offer transformative learning experiences for all Australian students and teachers.
- Professional development We offer high quality, culturally responsive and racially literate teacher professional development both in person and online.
- Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources This guide supports educators to make conscious and critical decisions when selecting curriculum resources.
- Core e-learning suite The Core e-learning suite consists of courses that have been developed to strengthen individual and organisational cultural capability.
What's new
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- News Read all our latest news and media releases.
- Events Find out about all of our upcoming events and conferences.
- Podcasts Listen, learn and be inspired by the stories of Australia’s First Peoples.
- Blogs Discover the stories behind the work we do and some of the items in our Collection.
- Summit 2025 We are please to partner with LNAC as co-hosts to deliver Summit 2025 in Garramilla
About
AIATSIS holds the worlds largest collection dedicated to Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
- Connect with us We invite you to connect with us on social media. Join our strong and growing membership and support our foundation.
- What we do We tell the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia and create opportunities for people to encounter, engage and be transformed by that story.
- Who we are We are Australia's only national institution focused exclusively on the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.
- Work with us We recognise that our staff and volunteers are our most valuable asset.
- Ngurra Ngurra: The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Precinct will be nationally significant in speaking to the central place that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold in Australia’s story.
- AIATSIS Central Australia We’re opening a new facility in Mparntwe/Alice Springs in partnership with First Nations Media Australia.
- Aboriginal Studies Press Aboriginal Studies Press (ASP) is Australia’s leading publisher of Australian Indigenous studies.
- Return of Cultural Heritage AIATSIS is leading the Return of Cultural Heritage (RoCH) program to return Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage material held overseas to Australia.
- Public Facilities Discover our public facilities options and services
Shop

Pathways thesauri

cover image

Publication date

Thursday, 1 January 2015

Type

Collection guides

AIATSIS Collections

The Pathways thesaurus is made up of three separate thesaurus headings:

Australian place names
Indigenous language groups and people
Subjects relating to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies.

Pathways thesaurus headings for Indigenous language group and people are changing.

Please search AustLang to find information about Indigenous languages, and use the Catalogue tab link to Mura for items in or about that language.

Headings for Indigenous people are still found using Pathways thesaurus; these headings are soon to be migrated to AustLang. Both sets of headings will be deleted from Pathways thesaurus when that migration is complete.

Use AustLang for Indigenous language groups
Use Pathways for Indigenous people

The AIATSIS Pathways thesauri provides many paths into the AIATSIS Collection via Mura, our Collection catalogue. The headings in Pathways are used in catalogue records to describe all items held in our Collection. Following the ATSILIRN protocols, the thesauri contain culturally appropriate terms to describe materials with Indigenous content.

The United States Library of Congress has approved the Language, Place and Subject thesaurus for use worldwide in bibliographic records. In addition to our records on Mura you will find these headings in records on National Library of Australia’s Trove and OCLC’s Worldcat databases. You are able to download the thesaurus in pdf or rtf format.

Search the Pathways thesauri

Language

This thesaurus contains headings for languages and peoples within Australia. The headings include the language code eg. (N92) and a grid reference to the 1:250,000 map grid series eg. Alawa language (N92) (NT SD53-10).

Place

This thesaurus contains headings for place names within Australia, using the Indigenous place name first, wherever possible. The headings include the grid reference to the 1:250,000 map grid series eg. Lake Hindmarsh (NW Vic SJ54-03).

Subject

This thesaurus contains the faceted subject headings. It reflects AIATSIS' exclusive interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies. Where possible, the choice of heading tries to reflect Indigenous perspectives.