settler colonial studies blog

How to recover the Indigenous city: Ana Luiza Morais Soares, ‘Archival Silences and Urban Indigenous History: Approaches to Uncovering Invisible Pasts’, Journal of Anthropological Research, 2024

07May24

Abstract: The encounter between anthropology and history has great potential to illuminate marginalized social actors and the diverse power relations that were in play in the past, especially in the lives of urban Indigenous people. This article traces the trajectory of the growing interchange between anthropology and history and their different methodologies to document Indigenous history in the city. Researching Indigenous pasts in the urban environment poses particular challenges in confronting researchers with specific types of archival silences and cultural-political erasures. Triangulating diverse historiographic and ethnographic sources and perspectives in what I call “ethnography of the archives” can offer strategies for hearing the silenced voices of the urban environment of the past.

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Geographer and settler: Gerhard Rainer, ‘German colonial geography as a racial-Völkish reordering project beyond the East: National Socialism and the colonial writings of geographer Oskar Schmieder’, Journal of Historical Geography, 84, 2024, pp. 85-94

07May24

Abstract: There is very little research on German colonial geography in general, and the boom in this subdiscipline during the National Socialist period has not received any scholarly attention so far. Against that backdrop, this paper aims to contribute: a) to a finer-grained picture of colonial, racial-Völkish thinking – and its application – in German geography during the National Socialist period and b) to our understanding of the continuities and ruptures in German geographical scholarship after WWII. To that end, I focus on the biography of Oskar Schmieder (1891–1980). Two interrelated aspects of Schmieder’s writings will guide the analysis: first, his conceptualization of race, Volk, and soil regarding (Germans in) South America and, secondly, the political colonial project that he pursued for Nazi Germany. Studying Oskar Schmieder shows that German geographers not only stood up for the re-establishment of a German colonial empire during the National Socialist period, but also fought for its Fascist orientation – which, at least for Schmieder, was to differ from the German colonial pre-1914 empire. Being primarily known as a representative of Länderkunde, Schmieder’s institutionally and conceptually influential career after 1945 can be seen as a prime example of the continuities within the discipline in Germany.

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‘On our dead body’: Alessandro Chechi, ‘Repairing Historic Injustice: The Return of Indigenous Peoples’ Ancestral Human Remains Through Transitional Justice’, International Journal of Cultural Property, 2024

06May24

Abstract: This article focuses on the ancestral human remains of Indigenous peoples that were taken by European invaders during the colonial era. It begins by considering the notion of human remains. It then describes the two types of heritage that result from the removal of human remains: the tangible heritage made of the remains exhibited or stored in the museums or universities of former colonial States, and the intangible heritage made of the collective memories of the surviving communities and their descendants about the removal (and the absence) of the stolen remains. The article next examines the role of national and international laws with respect to the restitution of human remains by exploring the concept of transitional justice. This article argues that transitional justice can facilitate the meaningful repatriation of ancestral human remains and hence the healing of past injustice.

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The settlers’ appetite: Or Rosenboim, ‘A Food Utopia? Italian Colonial Visions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, 1911-13’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 85, 2, 2024, pp. 289-320

06May24

Abstract: This article explores the uses of utopian rhetoric of food plenty in Italian colonial visions before the First World War. It examines the travel writings of three leading Italian journalists, Enrico Corradini, Arnaldo Fraccaroli, and Giuseppe Bevione, who visited the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and campaigned for their colonization by Liberal Italy. By reconstructing their utopian rhetoric of food plenty, this article seeks to show the relevance of arguments about food and agriculture produce to early twentieth century colonial visions, shedding light on an aspect of Italian political thought that has been hitherto marginalized in existing historical scholarship.

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Teaching the settler history: Rebecca Cairns, Aleryk Fricker, Sara Weuffen (eds), Decolonising Australian History EducationFresh Perspectives from Beyond the ‘History Wars’, Routledge, 2024

06May24

Description: This book is the first of its kind to showcase a range of fresh and expert perspectives on decolonising history education in Australia. The research-informed chapters by First Nations and non-Indigenous educators and scholars provide guidance on applying practical strategies for decolonising learning and teaching, and moving beyond the ‘history wars’. History has long been the most contentious area of education in Australia. This book tackles the narrow and overtly politicised ‘history wars’ debates and foregrounds the need to re-examine impacts of settler-colonialism on Australia’s history. First-hand knowledge and much-needed teaching practices are presented, demonstrating how decolonisation can be put into action through Australian history education. The chapters present a range of perspectives from the early years right through to higher education settings and argues that there is an increased need for greater awareness, appreciation, and willingness to explore and engage with multiple narratives of truth-telling that are so often contested. Readers are guided to discover how this translates to classroom practice through unique, provocative, and research-informed strategies that foreground applied decolonising approaches. Combining theoretical perspectives and practical ideas, this book is an essential resource to support pre- and in-service teachers, in all education contexts, in navigating the decolonisation of Australian history education. This makes it an important contribution to local, as well as global, decolonising efforts.

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Appropriating settler philanthropists: Cheryl Ellenwood, Raymond Foxworth, ‘Data Back: Indigenous Material Culture, Philanthropy, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty’, The Public Historian, 46, 2, 2024, pp. 123-143

04May24

Abstract: Grounded within the field and practice of philanthropy, the authors discuss the relationship between Indigenous material culture and philanthropy. This tangled relationship between philanthropy, colonial institutions, and Indigenous material culture continues to cause harm for Indigenous Peoples. We illustrate the problematizing nature of museums viewing material culture detached from current Indigenous Peoples with the case of the Nez Perce Wetxuuwíitin Collection. The Nez Perce Wetxuuwíitin Collection case shows how elite philanthropy and museum practices can negatively harm Native nations. Native collections are living Indigenous data and connected to Indigenous Peoples today. Material culture is not relegated to the past; it is Indigenous data and should be governed by Native nations. Without a change in practice, Indigenous Peoples will continue to be negatively impacted. To educate elite philanthropic partners and improve museum practices, we introduce principles from Indigenous Data Sovereignty that can help guide the partnerships and collaborations with Native nations. Indigenous Data Sovereignty can not only reduce harm and maximize benefits for Indigenous Peoples but also bring Indigenous data back home.

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Settler nationalists internationally: Freg J. Stokes, ‘Socialist Settlers on a Capitalist Frontier: The Contradictions of New Australia, Paraguay’, Labour History, 126, 1, 2024

04May24

Abstract: This article assesses the socialist colony of New Australia, founded in Paraguay in 1893, in its wider historical and environmental context. Drawing on archival research, the article contends that New Australia was founded as part of a broader settler colonial deforestation frontier in the southern Atlantic Rainforest. Despite the utopian socialist ideology of its founders, New Australia’s establishment was made possible by Paraguay’s violent integration into the capitalist world-system in the late nineteenth century. This integration had previously been obstructed by centuries of resistance by Indigenous Guaraní and Guaraní-descendant peoples to colonisation. Nevertheless, New Australia’s subsequent failure as a settler colony also ensured that its impact on the Atlantic Rainforest was relatively minimal, with the colony’s inhabitants themselves becoming integrated into Paraguay’s rural Guaraní-speaking population.

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Internationalism against settler nationalism: Padraic Gibson, ‘Communists and the 1933 Campaign that Ended Frontier Massacres in Australia’, Labour History, 126, 1, 2024

04May24

Abstract: In August and September 1933, agitation by the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) led trade unions and unemployed workers’ organisations to join a national campaign for Aboriginal rights for the first time in history. Police in the Northern Territory were publicly planning a “punitive expedition” to kill Yolngu people, in response to the spearing death of an officer. Public mobilisation stopped the expedition, effectively ending the practice of frontier massacres that had long characterised the colonisation of Australia. Existing histories have emphasised the leading role of missionaries and other middle and upper-class intellectuals, who led humanitarian organisations playing an increasingly influential role in Aboriginal affairs. While acknowledging the significance of these efforts, this article makes a new argument about the central role of communist agitation and the participation of working-class organisations in forcing a complete police retreat. Animating this initiative was a Marxist anti-imperialist politics that appealed to anti-war traditions within the workers’ movement.

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Parallel settler colonialisms: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, ‘Settler Colonialism in the U.S. and Israel’, In These Times, 48, 4, 2024

03May24

Abstract: This article discusses the concept of settler colonialism in the United States and Israel. The author shares their personal experiences and perspectives on the issue, highlighting the displacement and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in North America and Palestinians in Israel. Settler colonialism is described as a process in which settlers establish new political orders and carry their sovereignty with them, erasing and replacing existing societies. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding the settler colonial context in order to comprehend the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

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The intelligence of settlers: Abigail Escobedo, Simon Herbert, ‘Gaining Knowledge about the Comanches: Meusebach’s Path Towards a Notable Treaty’, Migrant Knowledge, 18/04/24

03May24

Excerpt: In 1847, John O. Meusebach was seeking to set up a peace treaty with the Native American tribe, the Penateka Comanches. Meusebach’s negotiation of a peace treaty with them was crucial to the success of the German settlement project in Texas, spearheaded by the Mainzer Adelsverein for which Meusebach served as a commissioner-general. Ultimately, the treaty sought to ensure the settlers’ safety and regulated trade relations between the two parties. However, entering Comanche territory was risky as one could not foresee how the Comanches would react to settlers crossing into their territory. Hence, Meusebach’s knowledge of and diplomatic skills with the Comanches were critical. He gained these from three sources, in particular: Meusebach’s predecessor as commissioner-general, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, the colonial director of Fredericksburg, Friedrich Armand Strubberg, and noted geologist Ferdinand Roemer, who was part of the expedition into native territory in early January 1847; all provided oral and written reports that contributed to Meusebach’s knowledge of these Native Americans.

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