Sport, Stories and Survival: Reframing Indigenous Sport History

Sport helped create identity in Australian Indigenous communities during the 20th century amidst great social and cultural upheaval, nowhere more so than in institutionalised communities such as Government settlements and religious missions. This Project aims to engage members of these communities in Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands in the history-making process to reveal untold stories about the sporting past, to revisit existing histories for new meanings, and to conceptualise new approaches to Indigenous sport history that emphasise positive memories around survival, pride and identity while not disavowing tragic and traumatic dimensions.

This research is funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship (2017–2021)