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Accepted Paper:
The Future is Native: the role of colonialism, Indigenism, and the future on Star Trek Next Generation (and beyond).
Lynette Russell
(Monash University)
STNG's motifs of colonialism, dispossession, and Indigenous rights intersect and presents an (often) unconscious critique of settler colonialism and imperialism. Although written by the colonising victors STNG nonetheless offers a counter reading of the potential for Indigenous futures and agencies.
Paper long abstract:
Many episodes and several STNG films (First Contact, Insurrection) focus on the themes of Indigeneity, colonialism, and dispossession. Star Trek has been described as "Wagon Train to the stars", and like its western genre counterpart, Star Trek is built on the exploration, and exploitation of native lands (worlds). In this paper I will explore how Alien encounters are configured as native-newcomer or Indigenous-coloniser engagements and what this means for the imagined futures. I will argue that Star Trek as canonical text represents an important popular culture moment allowing reflection on the role of sovereignty and Indigenous rights. In this context, the Prime Directive (Star Fleet General Order 1, or the non-interference directive) can be read as a utopian model for coloniser-settler-Indigenous relations.