The question of indigenous origins and the unlevel playing field: outside the boundary of the dominant paradigm

Research production in sports Studies comprises a variety of methodologies and procedures linked to a number of paradigms. A crucial element of research output lies with the impact and review of one's work. I delve into the aspect of review and provide an experiential account of how the dominant paradigm of Australian sports history is unable, for the most part, to understand and subsequently dissect alternative research productions. In particular, I conclude that the philosophical essentialism embraced by those occupying the dominant paradigm precludes an understanding of alternative research paradigms and methodologies for and about Indigenous peoples in the context of a colonial history and post-colonial legacy that renders traditional historical approaches highly problematic and ineffective tools in attempts to recapture a past Australia characterized by engagements and entanglements between 'settler' and 'native'.