Invasion of the Aborigine

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Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers? That 1956 classic film was about an invasion of Santa Mira by alien plant spores from outer space that formed into pods and took over the bodies of humans, until there was only one person left to stop them. The only way to survive was not showing emotion, otherwise the aliens would discover who they were and they would be “seeded”.

The two remakes were in 1978 – this version was the most popular starring Donald Sutherland – and in 2007 with Nicole Kidman called The Invasion.

It is kind of a version of replacement – the action, not the theory. Culturally speaking, this practice occurs when one culture conquers another, and eventually the conquered culture gets so far pushed to the margins that it almost seems that they don’t exist. They don’t have a substantive presence in the media, popular society, government, business, or any major facet of life. To any outsider who does not know of the history of that land, it would seem the “new” culture is the indigenous culture.

This was so obvious, and disturbing, as I sat and watched last night the boxing lightweight undisputed matchup between Devin Haney and George Kambosos, Jr.

The bout was held in Australia, Kambosos’s home country – his family is actually from Greece, Sparta to be exact. Kambosos won three of the four championship belts in a shocking upset over superstar Teofimo Lopez last year, and with that became the top seed in the division. He demanded that his next fight would be in Australia because he went overseas to campaign for those belts, so he felt he deserved to fight at home. Haney, who held one of the belts, was more than willing to oblige him, and said he would go to Jupiter to fight Kambosos. So, he went to the Down Under, and walked away victorious.

It was disturbing, but not as disturbing that his father, Bill Haney, was initially denied entry into the country because of a drug conviction he had 30 years ago, and according to Australia’s commission rules, any person who has had a conviction over a year would not be allowed to enter the country.

Fortunately, at the last minute he was approved to enter and was there for his son to train, coach and to embrace the spotlight with him.

It was disturbing, but wasn’t as disturbing of the hoops that Haney had to jump through to secure the fight – essentially a lopsided money split between the two fighters in favor of Kambosos – and an almost mandatory rematch clause which really should not be exercised because Haney simply dominated in the fight.

What was most disturbing to me was the stark absence of aboriginal people at Marvel Stadium located in Melbourne. I mean, not a smattering of such faces anywhere. None of the boxers, trainers, judges, or referees were aborigine. None of the announcers or commentators were aborigine. None of the house staff, security, transportation, anyone visible were aborigine. Although there were people of color in the stands, I could not find one dark skinned, thick nosed, curly haired aboriginal person. It was as if they were wiped from existence. I could not believe what I was witnessing.

It brought to memory the commercials that featured Australians. They were all white skinned. And of course, images come to mind of Paul Hogan of Crocodile Dundee fame, and Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. In fact, if you Google famous Australians, none of them have a dark face. Like the humans in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, they have been almost thoroughly replaced.

I remember watching the 2002 film Rabbit Proof Fence starring Kenneth Branagh – it was based on the book Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington. It depicted the legally horrific child removal policy between 1905 and 1967, where “half caste” children – offspring of one white parent and one aboriginal parent – were removed from their homes and sent to camps to be “bred out of existence”.  

The half caste children in turn would work for, and eventually marry into white families, eventually wiping out aboriginal blood. It was sickening to watch mothers wailing as their children were being taken away, and how the children were being forced to abandon their own culture and adopt the dominant one.

Though the three heroes of the story escaped the school and found their way back to their homes where the mothers greeted them with emotional open arms, the reality was this practice devastated and decimated aboriginal families.

Today, of the total Australian population, there are only 3.3 percent aborigines. There is a lot I need to learn about Australia’s history, particularly of the aboriginal genocide, but according to the Guardian, between 11,000 and 14,000 were killed from 1794 to 1928. For more information, you may access the Colonial Frontiers Massacres Digital Map Project https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/

Sound familiar? According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, there are only 5.2 million Native Americans left in this country – approximately 2 percent of the total US population. We know the systematic decimation of peoples here, as it occurred around the world. Colonization led to mass cultural replacement.

In the last few years, at certain nonprofit organizational events there is an acknowledgment of the standing on Native American land, and they recognize that particular tribe, wherever that event is held.

On the surface it sounds good, but it is curious to me. Why? Because although we are standing on stolen land, none of its indigenous peoples hold any prominent policymaking positions within these organizations. To paraphrase a previous post, it is one thing to share the stage. It is another to share power. Any sort of rectifying of America’s true original sin must include that.

I want to shout out to my friend community artist Ashley Minner, a Lumbee native who last year became the assistant curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. You can read more about her and her position at https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/native-curator-ashley-minner. And, she just received her doctorate in American Studies. Congratulations Ashley!

The seeds that were planted in the Australian indigenous people were alien cultural seeds. In order to function and be successful in the current society, they must abandon their aboriginal ways and exist in identity only, otherwise they must stay in the margins, unseen by the rest of the world – unless they are featured on a Discovery Channel or National Geographic program.

Or, if they are given the rare opportunity to be seen on the world stage like runner Cathy Freeman at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney who lit the cauldron. She is an iconic figure in Australia, but symbols don’t replace what has been done to the people who roamed the land for thousands of years freely and abundantly.

There were three national anthems sung last night – the American for Devin Haney, the Greek for Kambosos’s family, and the Australian. It would have been fitting to have an aboriginal song sung to at least acknowledge their presence, to recognize that the entire country is standing on native land.

Then again, the invasion has come and gone, and we are left to check our emotions at the door, and move on.