By standing on the sidelines as the charlatan Bruce Pascoe was garlanded for the errors, deceits and absurdities of 'Dark Emu', cowardly academics spawned the current spate of postmodern sophistries in defence of the indefensible. That shameful silence, while it protected careers, has grossly besmirched the integrity of archaeology and anthropology

Bruce Pascoe has tapped a receptive audience and lucrative market in those who see a revised perception of indigenous society as enhancing the push for sovereignty and changes to the Constitution. Those who rank cause above truth and choose to remain diplomatically schtum do neither scholarship nor Aborigines any favours