09/04/2025
The Significance of Family and Kinship in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures
One thing that's really important to us as First Nations peoples, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are our families, are our extended families and our kinship systems. And, you know, they're a little bit different to non-indigenous people, in particular white people, because I've seen other nationalities such as Greeks, Italians, Asians, are quite similar in the way that they interact with their extended family members. But for us, your first cousin is more like your brother. You may have heard us say when we're talking about cousin, "cousin brother." So that's been... it crosses over between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures, in that you're referring to your first cousin, which is actually more like your brother. So, when you hear mob say "cousin brother" or "he's my brother" or "she's my sister," it may not necessarily be the actual sibling. It could be first cousin, and, uh, even second cousins are considered close. Third cousins, but first cousins? Cousin brother, like brother and sister. So if you hear the word "cousin brother," that means probably first cousin that they're talking about, and again, they're like brother, not cousins.
