Not Primitive, but Native

Colonization is a subject that is little known, or not known at all, since it is often confused with the causes of migration; in reality, colonization began as a project of territorial exploration, the intention to create and spread violence was not contemplated, rather it was a consequence of the discovery of new peoples whom they did not expect to find, as they believed they were the only ones, not knowing any lands other than their own. Thus, missionaries gave rise to what they called the “new world”.

Another fairly typical mistake that is made when talking about colonization, is to limit it to the so-called “Black Africa”. The process that has created the world we live in today is reduced to the domination of Africa, from here people speak of migration, that is, colonization is attributed as the reason why migratory movements towards more developed countries, or at least those not in conditions of severe hardship, were born.

What, in reality, led to migration flows and the decline of rural areas in many colonized countries, was the post-colonial period.

A particularly little-known case is that of Australia. The domination of Canada led to the discovery of the First Nations, the Indigenous populations of the country.

The problem today is that the term “Indigenous” is often confused with “Indian”, this happens because the linguistic choice to call these populations by the name First Nations, dates back only to the 1980s, precisely to replace the primitive term “Indian bands”.

These populations are still present today in Canada, the only state officially declared multicultural, and in Australia. However, no one knows the reality of the Australian situation regarding these populations, nor the roots of the country. It is mistakenly believed that Australia has no culture or history.

Australia was turned into a colonization project by the British captain James Cook at the end of the eighteenth century, from this voyage began British domination over the territory. The British called it “Terra nullius” because they believed it to be uninhabited, thus they exploited it as a settler colony, that is, a penal colony for exiles and prisoners. Contact with the Aboriginal people occurred years later, about twenty, because geographically the country was difficult to explore due to its vast size.

The settlement caused the decimation of the natives due to diseases, violence and the seizure of their lands.

Today, no one or almost no one knows that in Australia the First Nations are still fighting for their rights. Internationally, what is known about this country concerns only the current “Australian dream”; therefore, international knowledge is limited to the major cities: Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.

However, in rural areas live the Indigenous peoples, who are not primitives, but the natives of the place who survived the post-colonial period and who ask to be represented.

The only state to have established a treaty is the state of Victoria, which recognizes their presence on the territory long before colonization, therefore in fact recognizes them as legitimate inhabitants of the country.

An even more important fact was reported by Human Rights Watch, which states: “In 2025, the Yoorrook Justice Commission of the state of Victoria, which was the first formal truth-telling inquiry led by Indigenous people in Australia, found that the decimation of the First Peoples in Victoria constituted genocide”. This data affirms that the decimation of the First Nations population was officially recognized in 2025 as genocide in a hearing led, for the first time, by Indigenous people.

The gap between natives and non-natives is due to specific factors: poor housing conditions caused by marginalization in rural areas that are far less developed than major cities, low levels of education because they do not have access to it, unemployment and, consequently, poverty.

Furthermore, colonization and the forced importation of British culture and language condemned Indigenous peoples to lose their roots generation after generation, because since their discovery, children were forcibly taken away from their families so that they could be educated in institutional schools where nothing other than British knowledge was allowed. This dynamic still occurs today, in fact the data reported by Human Rights Watch clarifies that Indigenous families are twelve times more likely to have their children removed from their custody by authorities compared to non-Indigenous families living in Australia.

The suicide rate among the Indigenous population is twice as high as that of the non-Indigenous population, juvenile detention reaches 50%, despite minors under 18 representing about 6% of the Indigenous population.

Only the Australian government is aware of the severe discrimination they suffer, in fact in 2008 the project Closing the Gap was created, which did not recognize them as natives, but rather acknowledged that they were indeed marginalized. This project was reformulated only in 2020, when it was understood that the need of Indigenous populations was to be recognized as such and included in the life of the country.

Unfortunately, however, it has not led to major results except in the fields of education and health, because the project has never addressed the real causes of the hardship faced by these peoples. Instead, the focus has been placed on the economic aspect, neglecting the cultural and linguistic dimension, which is the core issue for Indigenous peoples.

In general, the importance of culture and of a population’s linguistic system tends to be greatly underestimated, whether that population is Indigenous or not. Culture is not only knowledge, but it acts in everyday practices, in people’s mental frameworks and in every small habit.

Even just imagining Indigenous peoples as “Indians” living in pointed huts is a sign of systemic ignorance, it shows that culture and roots must not be underestimated, but preserved and recognized because they are shaped by a context and by various circumstances. Culture does not only explain what a people is like, but how it is born and develops across generations, how it can contribute and which social practices have led to their way of life. It is not an end, but a means.

This case shows how many filters exist in the dissemination of the press, especially internationally, and how important it is to have a critical lens and a bit of curiosity.

There are many cultural facets capable of opening both mind and eyes, therefore one must not limit oneself to common thinking. Likewise, it is necessary to inform oneself about who Indigenous peoples really are and why they ask to be recognized as such.

Abandoning and deconstructing cultural stigma is the first step towards another new world, a fairer one.