Representations of Indigenous Australians (original) (raw)

The paper examines the historical representations of Indigenous Australians, focusing on Captain Cook's interactions with Aboriginal culture during his voyages and the subsequent misrepresentations that aided British colonial claims. It highlights the contrast between Cook's personal admiration for Indigenous ways of life and the edited narratives that depicted Aboriginal peoples as primitive and uncivilized. The analysis extends to the consequences of such representations, including the legal and societal classification of Indigenous Australians as non-existent, leading to a legacy of violence and dispossession.