Hello there!
After a short but fruitful conversation with some friends, I came up with the idea for this essay, in which I will tell the tale of Tusken oppression and how, sadly, it translates into real life.
I find this to be an important subject, because colonization has greatly changed our planet and the customs of the people who lived there before the Westerners came.
Speaking as a “westerner” myself, I will translate this difficult topic into Star Wars, with the great desert of Star Wars: Tatooine. A story of blood, racism and massacre translated to the Lucas epic.
If you end up liking the text, click the link below to go to the Essay Of The Week contest to vote for it or other entries.
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This essay is also part of the InterGalactic Mirror series, where I compare different aspects from Star Wars and other universes of fiction. Or reality. Here Is The Archive:
But anyway, let us begin.
Tuskens
Tuskens first appeared in the first Star Wars installment, A New Hope. In the movie, they were portrayed as violent, brutish raiders, who attacked Luke Skywalker and stole some of his gear.
It is only recently, in pieces such as 2009’s Kenobi, 2019-2020’s The Mandalorian and the more recent Book Of Boba Fett that a new light is shed on the Tuskens, as simple nomads who defend their home planet, not only raiders.
Interplanetary settlers came to Tatooine, shunning the native peoples, the Tuskens and the Jawas, kicking them out of their own homes on the desert and stealing everything the natives ever knew. Heck, they even enslaved them.
Speaking of slavery, let’s talk a bit about Tusken slavery.
Wookieepedia states:
“It is thought that Tuskens and Jawas shared common ancestry in the Kumumgah, who were taken off world by the Infinite Empire to work as slaves on other planets. In fact, the Sand People were one of the slave races used in construction of the Star Forge by the Rakatans.”
As such, we can see that the Tuskens were used as slaves together with the Jawas, when the “offworlders” came and took them away, as well as opressing them into inferiority compared to the Europeans. A similar thing happened on our planet too.
Settling
The story I will tell is a long one, shortened for your ease of reading, of Europeans, an impassable barrier and violent takeover. Let us begin. (This text is written by me, not taken from a history book)
We are in the Discovery age, around the 1400’s, and the Portuguese nation is scrambling for a way to a far-off country: India.
The geographical position of Portugal makes it one of the main ports in the world. It is from Portugal that countries/continents like America were found. But I'm not telling you the story of undying Portuguese patriotism.
Anyway, the Portuguese have discovered that the best way to reach India ( believed to be only accessible via the Mediterranean, currently controlled by Italian trade) is to go around the biggest continent yet seen: Africa.
The journey is a difficult one: it is necessary to bend many capes on the African shoreline.
Nonetheless, the Portuguese began sending traders and their best sailors to the Atlantic Sea in their attempts to bend Africa.
The first major step was that of Gil Eanes, who bent the mythical Cape Bojador, thus establishing Portuguese routes around the Moroccan coastline.
Many obstacles still remain, and the Portuguese monarchy continues sending more and more boats, every single one of which makes a little step forward.
By 1488, the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias bent the Cape Of Torments, now known as the Cape of Good Hope, at the extremity of Africa.
With Africa out of the way, the Portuguese continued to India, and, unbeknownst to anyone, established trade in Goa.
As the Portuguese made their way through Africa however, they had conquered small settlements and attempted to convert the natives to christianity.
This process was named conversion, and the Portuguese used it in Brazil, Africa and their other colonies, including Goa.
However, by converting these peoples, the Portuguese and all Europeans were breaking their culture and taking their lands, much like the British colonizers who first found America.
All my history textbooks since I began studying have never fully revealed the truth of how the Europeans oppressed the people they found. But it 's true. All of it.
Cruelty
“European greed led to the over exploitation of Africa's natural resources. Its people were enslaved and subjected to unspeakable cruelty. They were regularly chained, punished with whips and branding irons.”
Just this sentence and image give a terrible insight into how the Europeans treated the African natives, as well as any other natives that came in their way during the colonization of the world.
Back to Tatooine however.
As I mentioned earlier on, the settlers literally shunned the native species from their homes which made the Tuskens very angry. The reason they were this violent towards the settlers was because they had built their homes on Tusken turf. The reason they were called the Tuskens in the first place is because they raided the settlers’ Fort Tusken, pillaging the place violently.
Over the past few years, the drift between “Sand People” “Tusken Raiders” and “Tuskens” has been made, as not all Tuskens are violent pillagers like in the original movies.
But anyway, the settlers were extremely opposed to the Tuskens, and the Tuskens to them, although the humans were just angry because the Tuskens wanted “their” land (naturally) and vice-versa.
The settlers usually stayed away from the Tuskens, but were known to treat them extremely violently as well, not unlike Europeans in Africa…
We all know the famous scene in Attack Of The Clones when Anakin goes on a rage, killing Tusken Raiders because “they were animals”
This, of course, is a perfect example of racism and violent massacre. For when the Europeans took Africa and, sadly and outrageously, even now people of different cultures can be referred to as animals.
This calls back to an appalling incident that occured in the mid 20th century, where a young captain and his squad absolutely annihilated a settlement of native people. The 20th century!
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only incident of massacre in Africa, and anywhere because of racist beliefs. And some friends of mine actually met this captain (they had no choice), and related that to his dying day he remained proud of his achievement.
Appalling indeed.
Cultural Ties
Over the years however, people of absolutely different cultures have been able to create friendships, have children and be equals, as they should be.
In later years, some settlers on Tatooine have become more aware of the Tuskens, and have tried to avert violence as much as they can. But in the early years everyone feared the Tuskens. Such as in 2009’s Kenobi, relating a story about Tusken Raiders attacking a village. In the end however, an alliance of sorts is formed, led by Kenobi himself.
In The Mandalorian, the settlers of Mos Pelgo and the Tuskens team up to take down a Crait Dragon. In the installment, Tuskens are shown not as violent raiders, but intelligent beings, just living a different lifestyle than the settlers. Interestingly enough, in the Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga game, Tuskens are in the Scavenger class, not Villain or Extra.
Proof enough? (Well, probably not, since I’m using a Lego game to justify my argument. Oops.)
Also, in The Book Of Boba Fett, Boba actually lives with the Tuskens and learns their customs. They’re actually not what he thought. First they treat him with fear, him being a human and all, but later form a bond with him, taking him in as part of their tribe. They are later slaughtered by the ignorant spice-carrying crime syndicate of Tatooine, who in their turn blamed it on some Nikto Speed Bikers.
It is now that the policies of the world slowly improve that some leaders attempt to bring equality. Over years of xenophobia and racism, this will be difficult, but hopefully it can be done.
I believe it can.
Conclusion
This text has been on a different topic, and shorter, than most of my other works. It’s a difficult one for sure, but nonetheless something important to discuss.
If you think I missed something, tell me your opinion in the comments! It would be much appreciated. Also remember to upvote.
This essay is part of the Essay Of The Week competition. To vote for this or other essays and maybe submit your own, click the link at the top of the post.
This post is dedicated to:
@Aragorn Skywalker Of House Stark We’re just playing a “who can dedicate the most” game by now, aren’t we? Lol
@Infantry31st @Jonax Frostwalker @Shreekomandar @Plexaura @SagaSeeker @WriterBuddha @ArtooD2 and more for commenting, criticising, helping, inspiring and so much more. I appreciate you all.
And every other user on this wiki who has ever been mistreated, bullied, offended or hurt in general. This is for you. We are all equal, no matter where we live or how we look.
May The Force Be With You. Always.
