Australian Indigenous Sport Historiography: A Review

Abstract

This paper reviews the historiography of Australian indigenous sport. The historiography geographically and culturally emphasizes Aboriginal athletes over Torres Strait Islanders and temporally concentrates on the late 19th and late 20th centuries over the Protection Era that spanned much of the 20th century. In the contemplation of the historiographical silences, Whiteness and critical race theory (CRT), along with other strands of indigenous studies and decolonizing methodologies, are useful tools. Whiteness foregrounds Western epistemological perspectives and modes of knowledge presentation in professionally approved written outputs such as books, articles, and theses. CRT highlights the intricate workings of cultural forms such as sport and ways that Aboriginal people negotiate race and racism within particular cultural and social structures. These dimensions of Whiteness and CRT help demonstrate how and why Aboriginal sport history contributes to understanding race relations in Australia.