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Clip description
A burning fire. The Boss (Ralph Cotterill) hands the Tracker (Bradley Byquar) his hat. Tracker accepts the gift, placing the hat on his head.
Curator’s notes
A moment in the film where the relationship between the Tracker and Boss is consolidated with the gift of the hat, which symbolizes the status of the colonial forces, and concretises the affiliation of the Tracker with the police force, to be invested in the capturing of what are deemed Indigenous criminals or outlaws. The passing of the hat to the Tracker is symbolic of the passing on of the white man’s law, where the boss can trust that the Tracker will continue to uphold colonial morality, and subjugate Indigenous tribal laws. The Tracker in this sense inherits an alien law, or one that intends to annihilate the presence of Indigenous law.
