American Holocaust's Legacy in Native American Literature
This paper examines the profound impact of the American holocaust—including disease, forced removal, boarding schools, and sterilization—on Native American literature across centuries. It traces historical atrocities from Columbus's arrival through the 1970s, then analyzes how early Native authors like William Apes and Gertrude Bonnin responded through writing, and how contemporary authors including N. Scott Momaday, Sherman Alexie, and Leslie Silko continue to process and preserve this legacy. The paper argues that historical trauma remains central to Native literary expression as a means of cultural survival and intergenerational remembrance.
- Historical Roots of the American Holocaust: Columbus contact through bio-warfare and disease
- Policies of Genocide and Cultural Destruction: Indian Removal Act, boarding schools, Dawes Act, sterilization
- Early Native American Writers and Resistance: William Apes, Gertrude Bonnin, Mourning Dove literary responses
- Contemporary Native Literature and Cultural Memory: Sherman Alexie, Leslie Silko, N. Scott Momaday continue tradition
- The Enduring Legacy: Trauma shapes Native American literature and cultural survival
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What makes this paper effective
- Establishes a clear thesis linking historical trauma directly to literary output across multiple centuries
- Provides concrete historical evidence (smallpox blankets, boarding schools, sterilization statistics) to support claims about the scale of genocide
- Traces a chronological arc from initial contact through contemporary authors, showing how Native literature evolved as a response
- Grounds abstract concepts (Manifest Destiny, assimilation) in specific policies and outcomes
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper employs historical contextualization as its primary analytical method: it builds a detailed historical foundation documenting specific atrocities, then uses that foundation to interpret literary works. This approach avoids treating Native literature in isolation; instead, it positions authors as direct respondents to documented historical injustice. The paper also demonstrates comparative analysis across historical periods—comparing early authors' reactive works to contemporary authors' more complex interrogations of cultural identity.
Structure breakdown
The argument follows a cause-and-effect structure: the first half establishes causes (specific genocidal policies and their mechanisms), and the second half traces effects (how Native authors engaged with and processed this trauma through literature). Within each section, evidence moves chronologically, which reinforces the idea of ongoing rather than past harm. The conclusion reasserts the thesis by framing Native literature as an ongoing act of survival and cultural transmission.
Historical Roots of the American Holocaust
Understanding the legacy of the American Holocaust on Native American literature requires first examining the historical events that created it and their devastating impact on indigenous peoples. This tragedy is not merely historical; it continues to affect what Native Americans write about today. The definition of "Holocaust" used here is "any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life," a definition distinct from the more commonly recognized genocide of World War II.
When people today hear the word "Holocaust," they typically think of the atrocities committed in Nazi Germany. Few recognize that the United States participated in comparable genocide. Notably, Hitler himself drew inspiration from American policy toward indigenous peoples. According to John Toland, Hitler's biographer, the Nazi leader studied United States history and based some of his ideas about dealing with racially inferior peoples on American treatment of Native Americans. Hitler praised America's "efficiency of extermination by starvation, germ warfare, and the uneven battles between American Indians and Europeans."
When Columbus landed in Hispaniola, the indigenous population of the Americas was estimated at approximately 12 million. Within five centuries, this number was reduced by 95 percent. While European diseases, to which American Indians had no resistance, caused significant losses, deliberate bio-warfare accelerated the destruction. Lord Jeffrey Amherst, commander of British forces during the French and Indian War (1756–1763), approved a suggestion from Colonel Henry Bouquet to distribute blankets and handkerchiefs infested with smallpox to Native Americans. According to historian Peter d'Errico, correspondence between Amherst and Bouquet reveals an obsession with exterminating Indians by any available means. This act represents an early, intentional phase of the American Holocaust.
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