The ARIA Music Award for Best Indigenous Release was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. Originally titled Best Indigenous Record in 1987, it was renamed Best Aboriginal/Islander Release in 1995. From 1996 it was Best Indigenous Release.
The award for Best Indigenous Release was first presented to Coloured Stone for their album Human Love. It was retired after the 1998 awards with Archie Roach winning the final award for his album Looking for Butter Boy. Roach won the award three times and Weddings Parties Anything, Yothu Yindi and Christine Anu each won it twice, with all except Yothu Yindi winning both their nominations. Kev Carmody and Yothu Yindi were tied for the most nominations with six each, with both additionally contributing to the various artists album Our Home, Our Land, though Carmody never won. In 1988, upon Midnight Oil's nomination for Best Indigenous Record, their manager Gary Morris objected to the group being put in that category by ARIA, saying "an Indigenous Award should go to an indigenous band."
Winners and nominees In the following table, the winner is highlighted in a separate colour, and in boldface; the nominees are those that are not highlighted or in boldface.
Year Winner(s) Album title 1987 Coloured Stone Human Love Dave de Hugard The Magpie in the Wattle John Williamson Mallee Boy Sirocco Voyage The Three Chord Wonders Try Change 1988 Gondwanaland Gondwanaland Australia All Over Australia All Over Flying Emus This Town Midnight Oil Diesel and Dust Warumpi Band Go Bush 1989 Weddings Parties Anything Roaring Days Kev Carmody Pillars of Society Flying Emus "This Town" / "Darling Street" Midnight Oil "Dreamworld" Dave Steel "The Hardest Part" 1990 Weddings Parties Anything The Big Don't Argue Coloured Stone Wild Desert Rose Gondwanaland Wildlife Scrap Metal Broken Down Man Yothu Yindi Homeland Movement 1991 Archie Roach Charcoal Lane Coloured Stone Crazy Mind Various Artists Australia All Over Macca's No. 4 Various Artists From the Bush Wild Pumpkins At Midnight Little Victories 1992 Yothu Yindi Tribal Voice Archie Roach "Down City Streets" Kev Carmody "Eulogy (For a Black Person)" Shane Howard "Escape from Reality" Not Drowning, Waving & The Musicians of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea featuring George Telek Tabaran 1993 Yothu Yindi "Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)" Kev Carmody Street Beat Coloured Stone Inma Juju Gondwanaland Wide Skies Tiddas Inside My Kitchen 1994 Tiddas Sing About Life Kev Carmody Bloodlines Not Drowning, Waving Circus Archie Roach Jamu Dreaming Yothu Yindi Freedom 1995 Christine Anu Stylin' Up Kev Carmody "On the Wire" Ruby Hunter Thoughts Within Tiddas "Changing Times" Yothu Yindi & Neil Finn "Dots on the Shells" 1996 Christine Anu "Come On" Kev Carmody Images and Illusions Blekbala Mujik Blekbala Mujik Various Artists Our Home, Our Land Warumpi Band Too Much Humbug 1997 Archie Roach Hold On Tight George Telek Telek TiddasTiddas Warumpi Band Stompin' Ground Yothu Yindi Birrkuta - Wild Honey 1998 Archie Roach Looking for Butter Boy Gondwana Xenophon Singers for the Red Black and Gold "Yil Lull" John Williamson & Warren H Williams "Raining on the Rock" Bart Willoughby Pathways
Artists with multiple wins 3 wins Archie Roach
2 wins Christine Anu Weddings Parties Anything Yothu Yindi
Artists with multiple nominations 7 nominations Kev Carmody Archie Roach Yothu Yindi
6 nominations Tiddas
5 nominations Coloured Stone
4 nominations Christine Anu Gondwanaland Warumpi Band
3 nominations David Bridie Blekbala Mujik
2 nominations
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