koori

The preferred name for the indigenous people of Australia -- most commonly called Aborigines. They do not like this term because of the negative connotations it has. This is the name that Kooris use to describe themselves. In the Eastern Coast dialect of many Koori languages, it actually means "people". It is most commonly used in New South Wales and Victoria

The term koori is a relatively recent addition to Australian Aboriginal languages, having been coined in the 1960s. It is a combination of several similar-sounding words (coorie, kory, kuri, kooli and kool) meaning person or people in the languages of south-eastern Australia (Victoria and parts of New South Wales). It was initially used exclusively by indigenous people of these areas as an identifying term for an Aboriginal person or people, but has now become part of everyday Australian language.

As ymelup notes, the word koori is preferable to Aboriginal or Aborigine, as it has fewer negative connotations and is a specific term for Australian aboriginal people. However, it is often mistakenly (albeit with the best of intentions) used as a blanket term for all indigenous Australians. Koori describes indigenous people from NSW and Victoria, where the word originated. Tasmanian Aboriginal groups used the term Tasmanian koori for some time, but the tribal or language word Palawa is now superseding it. There are a wide variety of indigenous cultures and languages across the country, with different terms preferred in different regions, including Murri, Bama, Nunga, Nyoongah, Mulba, Wongi, Yamitji, Yolngu, Anagu and Yuin.