According to the official Indonesian law,^[2] Papuans more specifically indigenous Papuans or native Papuans (Orang Asli Papua)^[2] are the common native-derived internationalized endonym in Indonesian English for the Native Eastern Indonesians of Papua-origin (as opposed to “New Guineans” term coined by the British colonizers). They are members of Melanesians and Austronesian, related to Oceanians (and to some extent, the Australian Aboriginals), who natively inhabited the Eastern Indonesian provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, Southwest Papua, West Papua, South Papua, and Papua in Indonesia (which historically part of the larger Sahul palaeocontinent). The Papuans natively speak numerous languages belonging to Austronesian languages or Papuan languages, each with its distinctive and unique linguistic features that can only be found on the island.

The Papuans are one of the peoples of Indonesia that are protected under the national law by the government of Indonesia, to ensure their stability in economic and development.^[2]

The are several theories on the origin of the term Papua. One theory is that the name comes from the word Papo Ua shortened from Papo Ua Gam Sio, a Tidorese term which means 'the nine sio (negeri) not being united/joined together', referring to the region under Sultanate of Tidore influence which has competing settlements.^[3] The other theory is the term originated from Biak sup i babwa lit. 'the land below' the sunset, referring to the Raja Ampat Islands as Biak people historically migrated west to these islands from ther homeland in the Biak Islands. They claimed themselves to be kawasa ori sar lit. 'people from the sunrise'. Babwa in Raja Ampat dialects became Papwa and then Papua. These two theories may be related, as the term can also means 'the subjected land' according to the Ma'ya (non-Biak) Salawati King, one of the four kings, whose ancestor Gurabesi migrated from Biak and conquered these islands under the name of Tidore Sultan and became the intermediaries between settlements on New Guinea coast and Tidore in collecting tributes and trades.^[4][5]

Multiple terms have been proposed to describe the native inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia. “Papuans” (Indonesian: Orang Papua) is the preferred term (especially in Indonesian and English) for inhabitants of New Guinea, since it is based on actual native nomenclature used by as recorded in several ancient native evidences. Its usage in Indonesia most often exclude Papuans from Papua New Guinea, as they would be identified with the term "Papua New Guinean" (Indonesian: Orang Papua Nugini). Other terms, such as "Melanesians" (and less so Oceanians), are also used but include many inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia outside of New Guinea.^{[citation needed]}

After the passing of the Special Autonomy Law in 2001, the term "Native Papuan" (Orang Asli Papua, shortened to "OAP") was legally introduced to refer to specifically indigenous tribes from Western New Guinea,^[6] as the term Orang Papua has expanded to include migrants and their intermarried descendants who were born in Papua but don't belong to any indigenous tribes from New Guinea. Most Papuan tribes, with exceptions, are patrilineal and do not recognise matrilineal descents as members, as they do not carry the clan names.^[7] Though contentious, recognition by a tribal adat council can accommodate female descents and confers OAP status.^[8]

The Papuans grouped into numerous ethnicities, they possess various cultures and traditions. They are originally tribal community, shared different customs to one another, living in different isolated areas within the region.^{[citation needed]}

According to the official Indonesian national linguistic data, there are at least 428 living languages (and 37 Papua-based isolate languages) natively spoken by the Papuans in Indonesia alone,^[9] making it the most linguistically diverse community in Indonesia. Many of these languages are non-Austronesian hence called Papuan languages by linguists. The Papuan (non-Austronesian) languages are also spoken beyond New Guinea, such as the now extinct Tambora language, members of the Timor–Alor–Pantar languages,^[10] and North Halmahera languages family^[11] which includes Ternate and Tidore.^[12]: 20

• Melanesians
• Oceanians