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- Donate to the Collection We welcome donations of unpublished materials relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, culture, knowledge, and experience.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
- Support our work Join us and support the revival and maintenance of some of the oldest languages, songs and words in the world
Shop

Aboriginal Suicide is Different: A portrait of life and self-destruction

Publication date

Monday, 1 January 2001

Type

Book

Colin Tatz

Attachment/s

aboriginal-suicide-is-different-contents.pdf (pdf, 224.75 KB)

aboriginal-suicide-is-different-sample.pdf (pdf, 302.71 KB)

aboriginal-suicide-is-different-index.pdf (pdf, 268.69 KB)

Summary

Aboriginal Suicide is Different is a study of youth who have, or feel they have, no purpose in life — or who may be seeking freedom in death. It is a portrait of life, and of self-destruction, by young Australian Aboriginal men and women. To comprehend this relatively recent phenomenon which occurs more outside than inside custody, one has to appreciate Australian Aboriginal history — the effects of which contribute more to an understanding of suicide today than to psychological or medical theories about the victim. Australian Aboriginal youth at risk are suffering more from social than from mental disorder.

Every Australian’s birthright includes the expectation of a healthy and possibly happy life of some longevity, assisted by all the services which a civilised society can make possible. But this is not yet within the Australian Aboriginal (or Maori, Pacific Islander, Canadian and American Indian) grasp. That so many young Australian Aboriginal people prefer death to life implies a rejection of what the broader Australian society have on offer. It reflects our failure, as a nation, to provide sufficient incentives for young Aborigines to remain alive.

Adopting an historical and anthropological approach to suicide in Australia and New Zealand, Aboriginal Suicide is Different documents rates of suicide that may well be the world’s worst. It tries to glimpse the soul of the suicide rather than merely his or her contribution to our national statistics.

Reviews and endorsements

Aboriginal Suicide is the second edition of a book first published in 2001, distinguished by a new introduction reviewing some of the key concepts used in the analysis and recording parallels found with the situation among the Inuit. Tatz argues that the rapid increase in and current prevalence of suicide among young Indigenous Australian cannot be explained through a medical model of causation.

– Robert Layton, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 13, 743–783, 2007