Colonial genocide in indigenous North America

Abstract

Andrew Woolford, Jeff Benvenuto, and Alexander Laban Hinton eds., Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014. 360 pages. ISBN 978-0-8223-5779-7. $26.95 USD paperback.In recent years, the field of studies has experienced a great deal of attention with various scholars exploring different approaches, limitations, and perspectives. One focus concerns Raphael Lemkin's intentions when he developed the concept of genocide which became the cornerstone of the United Nations Genocide Convention in 1948. Some prefer a more stringent approach and view in largely legal terms with a heavy focus on special intent, while others have argued that Lemkin had a broader vision in mind: one that encompasses colonialism and the experiences of indigenous populations. Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America is a book that situates itself firmly within this latter stance. The expansion of studies into alternative arenas such as the impact of colonial practices on Indigenous populations fundamentally challenges the traditional perception of with its heavy reliance on intent, deterrence and prosecution.In this volume, the editors Andrew Woolford, Jeff Benvenuto, and Alexander Laban Hinton have compiled a selection of essays drawn from the proceedings of a recent conference on colonial that make a compelling case for understanding the topic as less of an event and more of a process, especially where colonialism is concerned. Taking a critical studies approach and written by a variety of distinguished scholars, this book attempts to tackle many debates and perspectives. It reformulates as a series of processes and structural arrangements that are inherently destructive, and from this perspective, genocidal. Essentially, those who apply to colonial relationships make the argument that is less an intentional episodic form of violent and destructive action, and more of a type of relationship characterized by an asymmetry of power in the political, economic, and social spheres. As such it is inherently destructive to native cultures and peoples.In its approach to these various viewpoints, this edited volume is organized into four sections, Intersections and Trajectories, Erasure and Legibility, Transformations, and (Re)Imaginings. In the first section, the contributing authors provide insights on different levels of genocidal penetration and connections within society, while the second section discerns the that enabled the development of against Indigenous populations in North America. Such policies include the honoring of murderous acts of settlers by the US government (Madley), prejudices, beliefs, and truths as perpetrated by society (Whaley, Logan), as well as that led to the creation of an extensive boarding school system (Patzer). The third section of the book is concerned with the institutionalization and power distribution within North American settler society. The chapters by Jacobs, Benvenuto, Ladner, and Samson provide a glimpse at the workings of governmental power on Indigenous relations. In the fourth and final section, Gone addresses the debates concerning historical trauma as an indicator of genocide, a contention that is widely disputed, even within this book. …