Real Injuns v. Fake Indians: Identity Imposition as a Form of Violence Against Natives

• In Event: Constructing Crime: Identity, Legitimacy, and Authenticity

Abstract

While much has been done to study the racialization of select minority groups in the United States—including African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans—the same cannot be said for people indigenous to the United States. This paper examines the racialization of United States indigenous populations, looking especially at the imposition of identity as a form of violence against Native people. Using critical race and feminist theories as lenses, this paper analyzes such violence through four basic sections, using data collected from archives, newspapers, novels, and published reports: 1) the construction of Euro-indigenous relations via land wars throughout United States history; 2) the establishment of “blood quantum” and other physiological standards to enforce racial purity; 3) the denial of legal and social citizenship to indigenous peoples in the United States; and 4) the creation and perpetuation of stereotypes of Natives. This paper challenges Western constructions of individual heritage, likening concepts of blood percentages and phenotypical traits to acts of violence when applied to Native communities in the United States. By doing so, the opportunity for Native people to define identity using community-based methods is presented.

Author

• Alexandra Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago