Vanishing Indian

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The Vanishing Indian or Vanishing Indian Myth is a stereotype regarding the depiction of Indigenous people, generally in the Americas, although the concept is found elsewhere as well, that they either are extinct or are destined to go extinct.

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Common forms

A common expression in everyday speech is a form of "you can't be Indian, Indians are extinct". [1] Another form is in the discussion of disappearance as inevitable, beginning this narrative in the early days of colonization. [2] It is a common theme in the arts and media as well, that dates back to early colonial times. [3] [2] The vanishing Indian became a popular trope in American novels by the 1820s, exemplified famously by Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, as well as lesser-known works like Logan, a Family History by John Neal. [4]

Relationship to 'paper genocide'

A paper genocide occurs when members of a group are removed from all records, thereby validating the belief that the group is extinct and causing harm to further generations. [5] [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Connolly, Cynthia (March 14, 2019). ""You can't be Indian! Indians are extinct!" by Cynthia Connolly". YWCA of Cleveland.
  2. 1 2 Dippie, Brian W. (October 25, 1991). The Vanishing American: White Attitudes and U.S. Indian Policy. University Press of Kansas. ISBN   9780700605071.
  3. ↑ Fling, Sarah. "The Myth of the Vanishing Indian: Art in the White House Collection". The White House Historical Association. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Elmer, Jonathan (2008). On Lingering and Being Last: Race and Sovereignty in the New World. New York City, New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 148–150. ISBN   978-0-8232-2941-3.
  5. ↑ Sutton, Victoria (July 17, 2020). "Guest Post: Native American Exclusion as a Form of Paper Genocide". LSSSE. Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.
  6. ↑ Estevez, Jorge Baracutei (October 14, 2019). "Meet the Survivors of a 'Paper Genocide'". National Geographic. Archived from the original (online) on March 18, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2023.

Further reading

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