Abstract:
Scholars seeking to understand contemporary anti-Black racism in Indonesia have often focused on the colonial legacy. They note that Dutch colonialists produced a ‘stone-age’ image of Papuans, rendering them as dark-skinned primitives and infantile beasts. Are current patterns of treatment of Black citizens and visitors continuations of this colonial background? Did post-colonial construction of the Indonesian nation-state alter this historical trajectory and present new anti-racist ideas consistent with a budding liberal democracy? Drawing on my personal experiences in Indonesia and interactions with Papuan citizens, I attempt to answer these questions. I conducted anthropological research in Kalimantan, Java, and Sumatra in 1995 and in South Sumatra in 1997 and returned to marry a Javanese woman in 1999. During my stint of research in 2003-4 in Yogyakarta, I met several Papuan students, and they shared their experiences and feelings about the treatment of black people in Indonesia. In addition, I met with several Papuan friends during a subsequent trip and remained in contact with them. My personal experiences as an African American ethnographer and discussions with Papuan interlocutors depict a problematic racialized scenario and a challenge for the growth of liberal democracy in Indonesia. I conclude that there is a complex combination of racial supremacy models that shape anti-Black ideas and practices in contemporary Indonesia. Although there are hopeful signs in post-New Order civil society, there is much work to be done to forge better relations with Papuans and other black Indonesians.