Australia from their lands, giving Aboriginal people 'no more claim to ownership of the land than the native fauna' (Wolfe, 2001, p. 869). Through the fiction of terra nullius, the British colonizers sought to eradicate Indigenous people who, at the time of invasion, were represented by at least 500 nations, each with their own language and cultural traditions (Tindale, 1940). With terra nullius, many nations of Aboriginal people were denied their humanity, and were ostracized from white society, creating a foundation for racism in Australia. Regardless of the fact that terra nullius is clearly a fiction and should not have been applied in Australia under international law, it is the basis of the Australian legal system. This doctrine gave the British the power to set up their systems of government, making Aboriginal people invisible. Consequently, not only did they not exist as Aboriginal people but there was an attempt to sever their connection to country, spirituality, identity and culture, rendering them powerless. Therefore, the Aboriginal people of Australia had no legal identity, as they were defined as sub-human.