Indigenous transnational visibilities and identities in Oceania : establishing alternative geographies across boundaries
The second part of the twentieth century saw movements of migration increased, notably in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific regions, resulting in a diversification of the concepts of nationhood, identity, language, and space. As such, many authors have worked through the lens of transnationalism and have sought to think beyond the concept of borders, since locality is ultimately attached to a specific identity. Thus, to account for shifting geographical and cultural frameworks, I aim to paint a cross-cultural comparison within different genres of Indigenous literatures in Oceania. Through an analysis of Robert T. Sullivan’s Star Waka (1999), R. Kikuo Johnson’s Night Fisher (2005), and Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria (2006), I examine the formation of Indigenous identities in relation to the authors’ respective homelands while also interacting with the changing concepts of local and national boundaries. By decentering the Western definition of the border I highlight the way in which these authors can be read through the semantic lines of their works as well as across geographical borders, thereby challenging the dichotomy between the local and the global by disorientating and regenerating creative Indigenous identities on a larger scale. As the twenty-first century engages with new sorts of narratives, the issue of rootedness and displacement within a network of Indigenous alliances allows for a comparative and transnational approach, and a vision of a shared literary world that crosses over local and national boundaries, thereby enabling alternative geographies and accounting for contrasting perceptions of the world.
Aotearoa Indigenous literatures Oceania Transnationalism Australia Aotearoa Hawai’i Decolonization Language Space Identities