Anti-Colonial Constructions of the Non-Aboriginal Self. Michelle Carey
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Whitefellas and Wadjulas: Anti-colonial Constructions of the non-Aboriginal Self. Michelle Carey. B.A. M.Litt. This thesis is submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution Michelle Carey Abstract In this thesis, I argue for anti-colonial constructions of the non-Aboriginal self. I take as my starting point that members of the invader/settler society in Australia must place them/ourselves in “an embodied awareness of ‘being in Indigenous sovereignty’” (Nicholl, 2004: 17) and name them/ourselves accordingly. An anti-colonial construction of non-Aboriginality formed within the locus of Aboriginal Sovereignty undermines the potency of ‘post-colonial’ processes of identity formation, which privilege the colonialist centre, and the concomitant marginalised position of Indigenous people. Thus, an anti-colonial construction of non-Aboriginality constitutes a radical recentring for processes of identity construction within invader/settler societies. This work responds to critical whiteness studies and post-colonial discourses of ‘belonging’. I acknowledge both whiteness studies and work on invader/settler belongings have gained traction in recent years as a means to problematise the whiteness of the settler/invader group and the legitimacy of their/our belongings. However, I argue they continue to operate within colonialist paradigms and perpetuate (neo)colonial power relations. In this thesis, I argue anti-colonial constructions of non-Aboriginality are constructed in dialogue with Aboriginal people. I conceive non-Aboriginality as a political identity that rejects ‘race’ and ‘colour’ as markers for identity. ‘Non- Aboriginality’ enables members of invader/settler societies to articulate support for Aboriginal Sovereignty and Aboriginal claims for social justice and human rights. i Contents Protocol 2 Introduction 5 The Thesis 5 Defining Terms 6 The Political Intent of the Thesis 11 Contextualising the Aims of the Thesis, Part One: 15 From Whiteness to non-Aboriginality Contextualising the Aims of the Thesis, Part Two: 21 Struggling with Post-Colonial Belonging Theoretical Framework 26 An Anti-colonial Theory for Whitefellas: Making 37 non-Aboriginality Anti-Colonial Conclusion 55 Chapter One: Methodology 57 Introduction 57 The Relationship between the Exegesis and the 58 Documentary The Documentary 65 - Participants 70 - Questions 71 - Sound 73 The Written Text 73 Autobiographicalising the Text 74 Chapter Two: The Reassertion of Colonialism through the Abolition 83 of Whiteness Introduction 83 Chapter Overview 88 The New Race Abolitionists: An Overview 90 A Story about Political Identity and Activism 99 An ‘Abolition’ of Identity 109 Crossing Over 112 Strategic Relationships with Race Hate Organisations 143 Conclusion 149 Chapter Three: The Invader/Settler ‘Goes Native’: 154 Appropriations of Aboriginality and the Indigenisation of White Australian Identity Introduction 154 ii Chapter Overview 157 An Overview of Greer and Moran 163 Contextualising Greer and Moran: A Brief Historical 169 Overview Putting Greer and Moran in ‘Post-Colonial’ Context 178 Desiring Aboriginality: Which one shall we choose? 200 Conclusion 209 Chapter Four: Transformation and Transcendence: 212 Creating the non-Aboriginal Subject Introduction 212 Chapter Overview 214 Developing an Ontology of non-Aboriginality 217 The Third Space meets the Third Domain: From the 227 Metropolis to Aboriginal Sovereignty A Story about non-Aboriginality 238 Naming non-Aboriginality 251 Defining the non-Aboriginal Subject 264 Conclusion 281 Conclusion 284 Bibliography 294 Thesis 294 Documentary 310 iii Acknowledgements Foremost amongst those I must thank is my supervisor, Dr Kathryn Trees. Kathryn’s commitment to seeing me through this process repeatedly rose far and beyond the call of duty. Thankyou does not scrape the surface. Kathryn, it has been an absolute privilege to know and work with you. I also thank those solid Aboriginal women, who have played such a critical role in teaching, advising and supporting me in the years preceding this thesis, and the time it has taken to write it. There are too many people to name here, but specifically, I thank my friend Christine Ross and her family, Ashleigh, Braeden, Jasmine and Cody-Dylan. My thanks to Murdoch University, which awarded me a Murdoch University Research Scholarship in 2002. Without this financial support, this project would not have been possible. I also thank those who offered me collegial and moral support throughout this process. Specifically I thank Sean Gorman and Linda Delaney. In addition, to the many other friends I have made at Murdoch, thankyou for your time, energy, interest and comradeship. I also thank my colleagues at Curtin University’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies for their support and allowing me the time to complete this thesis. I also thank my family for their ongoing support. Specifically, I thank my sister Katrina. I also thank Aunty Shirl for her indefatigable interest in my progress. Most of all, I acknowledge my nieces and nephews, Matthew, Sjaan, Zachary and Anika. If we do not undertake such tasks without imagining the futures we desire for the children in our lives what is the point of doing it at all? Importantly, I also offer my profound thanks to my best mate, Julie Burke. Thankyou Julie, for your unstinting faith in me. Finally, I offer my love and gratitude to my Grandparents, Frank and Heloise. I lost you both six months before I started this project. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss you more than words can say. I dedicate this to you both, in honour of your life and your memory. Michelle Carey 2008 iv They were standin' on the shore one day, Saw the white sails in the sun Wasn't long before they felt the sting, white man, white law, white gun Don't tell me that it's justified, 'cause somewhere, someone lied Yeah well someone lied, someone lied, genocide Well someone lied. And now you're standing on solid rock Standing on a sacred ground Living on borrowed time And the winds of change are blowin' down the line (Shane Howard and Goanna, 1982) 1 Protocol “The protocol for introducing one’s self to other Indigenous people is to provide information about one’s cultural location, so that connections can be made on political, cultural and social grounds and relations established” (Moreton- Robinson, 2000: xv)1∗. Increasingly, non-Aboriginal people are also observing this protocol (see, for example, Curthoys, 2000: 22). While there is some concern that this observance of protocol has become perfunctory (Haggis, 2004a: 48), I argue it is a powerful indication of the growing recognition that we live in relationship with Aboriginal people on their land. It illuminates the desire non- Aboriginal people have to learn how to live on this land with respect and in accordance with the appropriate protocols. When we observe this protocol, we make a public declaration of our non-Aboriginality. When we come together with Aboriginal people and declare our non-Aboriginality we affirm that we want to forge our own inter political, social and cultural relationships. We indicate that we understand that the basis for connection is respect of Indigenous Sovereignty. This thesis is about such matters so, in this spirit, I will introduce myself. My name is Michelle Carey. I’m a (around-about) sixth generation white Australian of mainly Irish decent. Some of my mob were from England, but like 1 Aileen Moreton Robinson is a Geonpul woman and Professor of Indigenous Studies at Queensland University of Technology. She is a leading Australian academic in critical whiteness and race studies and was the founding President of the Australian Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Association. Professor Moreton-Robinson has published in the areas of Native Title, whiteness, race and feminism in Australia and abroad. She has also worked and advocated for Indigenous rights in Australia and internationally. ∗ Throughout this thesis, I provide short biographies of some of the scholars whose work I draw on in the development of this work. The biographies indicate the authors and scholars who are influential in the development of my thinking on this matter and inform the basis of my argument. 2 many of us who consider ourselves ‘Irish’ we don’t acknowledge this too often! To the best of my knowledge, on my father’s father’s side, the Careys, came form County Cork. Out of curiosity, I did a web search on the Gaelic spelling and meaning of Carey. Apparently, it’s O’Ciardha; the O meaning descendent of, and Ciardha meaning dark. I must confess that despite my denial of Anglo ancestry that my Anglicisation is complete. I look at the word ‘Ciardha’ and wonder about the spelling. How does one sound inform the next? How do I make this configuration of letters say CAREY? It’s my name but I don’t recognise it as mine. On my mother’s mother’s side, the McCurdies are from Derry and the Mays are from Belfast. On my Mother’s Mother’s Father’s side, the Poulters come from Sussex, England. To the best of my knowledge, my ancestors migrated here of their own free will. There are no hidden convict stains, stories of Fenian rebels or famine victims. There are no grand romantic narratives to explain the presence of my family in Australia. I went to Ireland when I was 19, to check if I was Irish. A bus driver in Limerick set me straight. He said the Americans were tourists and Australians were guests. At first I thought he was flattering me. It soon clicked though that he thought I was only marginally higher up in the pecking order than those loud Americans who developed sudden penchants for wearing tweed caps and walking with the aid of a blackthorn stick.