Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0822357798 ISBN 13: 9780822357797

Publisher: Duke University Press Books, 2014

Synopsis

This important collection of essays expands the geographic, demographic, and analytic scope of the term genocide to encompass the effects of colonialism and settler colonialism in North America. Colonists made multiple and interconnected attempts to destroy Indigenous peoples as groups. The contributors examine these efforts through the lens of genocide. Considering some of the most destructive aspects of the colonization and subsequent settlement of North America, several essays address Indigenous boarding school systems imposed by both the Canadian and U.S. governments in attempts to "civilize" or "assimilate" Indigenous children. Contributors examine some of the most egregious assaults on Indigenous peoples and the natural environment, including massacres, land appropriation, the spread of disease, the near-extinction of the buffalo, and forced political restructuring of Indigenous communities. Assessing the record of these appalling events, the contributors maintain that North Americans must reckon with colonial and settler colonial attempts to annihilate Indigenous peoples.

Contributors. Jeff Benvenuto, Robbie Ethridge, Theodore Fontaine, Joseph P. Gone, Alexander Laban Hinton, Tasha Hubbard, Margaret D. Jabobs, Kiera L. Ladner, Tricia E. Logan, David B. MacDonald, Benjamin Madley, Jeremy Patzer, Julia Peristerakis, Christopher Powell, Colin Samson, Gray H. Whaley, Andrew Woolford

About this title

About the Author:

Andrew Woolford is Professor of Sociology and Criminology and Social Justice Research Coordinator at the University of Manitoba.

Jeff Benvenuto is a Ph.D. student in the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University, Newark.

Alexander Laban Hinton is the Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Professor of Anthropology and Global Affairs, and the UNESCO Chair on Genocide Prevention at Rutgers University, Newark.

Theodore Fontaine is the author of Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: A Memoir.

Review:

"Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America is one of the best anthologies I have read in the field of American Indian and Indigenous studies. Within North American history, few have seriously tackled the central question of this anthology: to what extent were Indigenous-settler relations genocidal? The failure of U.S. and Canadian scholars to address this question in a deep and sustained way makes this insightful collection particularly timely and important." (Ned Blackhawk, author of Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West)

"The field of genocide studies is finally waking up to the colonial dimensions of genocide, both in terms of Lemkin's own ground-breaking work and now more broadly in the work of numerous contemporary scholars. This excellent collection deals head on with the often neglected, or intentionally ignored, cases of colonial genocides in North America, and for that reason alone it will make a significant contribution to the field of genocide studies. Moreover, the quality of individual contributions will ensure this key text sets the standard for many years to come." (Damien Short, author of Reconciliation and Colonial Power: Indigenous Rights in Australia)

About this edition

• Publisher: Duke University Press Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0822357798
• ISBN 13: 9780822357797
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 360
• Editor: Hinton Alexander Laban, Woolford Andrew, Benvenuto Jeff