Occupation: Native

Biting Back at Australian History

The Aboriginal story has been buried deep beneath the 247-year-old accepted Australian narrative. In OCCUPATION: NATIVE, Aboriginal filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas, bites back at Australian history.

Captain James Cook, a hero to most Australians but a thief to Aboriginal people, stole the continent with a British flag. Of course, the Aboriginal people had no idea what Cook was up to. They continued on with their lives, blissfully unaware that their 80,000 year kinship with their lands was about to be tested beyond their worst nightmares.

Aboriginal people fought back against white domination, but numbers and guns were against them. In a long, ugly war, brave men, women and children died in defense of their country, yet the European narrative buried their heroic stand and failed to mention their names and deeds.

But the voices of Black Australia would not be quieted. Their spirit and resilience became a contemporary political issue, and the concept of reconciliation became an ideological mantra. Achieving that goal became a political football for decades, and is still getting a good kick around the park today.