False Claims of Colonial Thieves Silenced and whitewashed, in False Claims of Colonial Thieves, Charmaine Papertalk-Green and John Kinsella illuminate the cult of forgetfulness and political injustices suffused upon the First nation’s people. Ultimately highlighting the guilt of ignoring the voices of indigenous Australians across generations, undermined by the collective memories of Australia, which have evolved into a state of historical amnesia. Undermined through the bleak past, both poets reveal that atrocious avarice can lead to the desecration of the natural flora and fauna. The accusations attributed by both poets in 'Undermining' offer a tender portrayal of the land while simultaneously warning about the damage that can occur if it is mistreated. Kinsella intertwined king brown snakes with its poison, which remains "inert" within its body, and the uranium present beneath the ground, which poisons the land once it is brought to the surface. Kinsella hence signifies the macabre environmental parallel between the snake and the uranium, alluding to the toxicity of both and the greed of the colonists in mining the unstable energy source. The author provides a sombre image of the impact of exploiting the land, explaining how the “earth folds inward, bursts back out”, and “how the forests, and their contents are all gone’, and replaced by a "void". Kinsella's use of sentence fragments explores the catastrophic effects of the mine 'bursting' open, and by isolating the phrase “void”, he describes the desolated and apocalyptic landscape left behind after extracting minerals from the earth. Similarly, Papertalk-Green warns against the hazardous and hostile nature of land damaged by people’s insensitive actions. The author describes the mining process as the 'birthing of a dangerous little boy.' The imagery of uranium being 'birthed' when mined suggests a deep bond between Mother Earth and her uranium child, one that must not be broken for financial gain. Green then switches the personification of uranium to petulant and childish world leaders who seek to weaponize it to gain power over others, saying, "for the warfare toys of other little boys worldwide." The poet's use of personification contrasts the mined uranium's volatility with the image of the land as a kind elder, emphasizing the dangers of mining. Thus, the contrast between the calm and spoiled uranium clarifies the poet's message that heinous mining should be banned, and the land should be left untouched. In False Claims of Colonial Thieves’ poets explore the truth behind the abominable and enduring cultural assimilation imposed upon the First Nations People in the name of Christianity. The whitewashed history portrays John Hawes, a Catholic priest and architect, as a heroic figure holding a "bible and a cross". However, the poets offer an alternative view of the story, exposing missionaries like Hawes who "[i]ntruded on the traditional lands” as fake heroes. Papertalk-Green characterizes colonial missionaries as oppressors, urging the largely Australian readership to reconsider some of the accounts of history they may have accepted as fact. The poets expose the propaganda of impure missionaries towards the First Nation People, building on the brutal treatment of cultural lands. Kinsella explains how Hawes gained fame by constructing religious buildings in Yamaji and Wajarri lands, stating that "His altar had believers." The pun illustrates that Hawes used his position to become a celebrated figure who was followed by acolytes based on the elaborate religious buildings' style and grandeur. Additionally, the poet's reminder that the churches and cathedrals were built from "stone and earth" is significant because it illustrates that not only were the Christian places of worship built on the sacred land of the Yamaji and Wajarri people, but they were also made from materials mined and quarried from the land. By exaggerating the heroic deeds of colonial settlers like Hawes, authors shed light on their impact on First Nations people and re-examines history. The text unequivocally exposes the insidious 'Great Australian Silence' that obfuscated the brutal truths of the atrocities inflicted upon the Aboriginal people throughout Australian history. Echoing the stifle torment of the past, Papertalk-Green explores to dissect the sanitized image of Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) by exposing its vicious colonial past. The author describes how “our men” suffered greatly as they were “trapped” and “forced” to work while being the victims of “shootings [and] hangings,” while the colonisers were guilty of “stealing, [and] murdering.”. The poet’s use of listed aggressive and non-finite verbs underpinned by the grinding plosive sounds emphasises forced displacement. It portrays an image of dehumanisation experienced by the victims, referring to the “hell” they were subjected to. Moreover, her clarification that she does not “I don’t like flying over” reminds the Australian spectators that while they ignore the truth of the dark injustices imposed upon the First Nation’s people, she and her community cannot forget. It has been long accepted that truth-telling is an essential part of the reconciliation process, but this is easily said and hard to achieve. In “Always Thieves," Papertalk-Green single-mindedly attacks white Australians to deliberately discomfort and engage them in debates and political processes. The refrain “[a]rrived as colonial thieves still [r]emain as colonial thieves" suggests the enduring memories of torture and torment still exist to this day. For Papertalk-Green, nothing has changed in Australia, and she considers many of the readers as "thieves.”. This is a forthright attack on any non-Aboriginal viewer, as the word “thieves” has strong connotations of deliberate criminality and nihilism, and this accusation is emphasized with repetition across the poem and is likely to confront her audiences. False Claims of Colonial Thieves champions truth-telling and urges non-Indigenous readers to stand against prejudices and demonstrates that if the real history is not recognised, then there is no hope for reconciliation between indigenous people and modern Australia.
