Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, English and Literary Arts

First Advisor

Billy J. Stratton

Second Advisor

Kristy Ulibarri

Third Advisor

Elizabeth Escobedo

Keywords

Decolonization, Native Americans, Resistance, Settler colonialism, Sovereignty, The Peoplehood Matrix

Abstract

This thesis explores the complex dynamics of settler colonialism and the construction of peoplehood within the Laguna Pueblo, Lakota, Jemez Pueblo, Anishinaabe, and Blackfeet culture through a comparative analysis of literary works focusing on Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Frances Washburn’ Elsie’s Business, N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn, Gerald Vizenor’s The Heirs of Columbus, and Stephen Graham Jones’s Ledfeather; these authors employ narrative strategies to depict the destructive impacts of settler colonialism on indigenous identities and communities. Drawing upon postcolonial and indigenous literary theories, this research uses a comparative framework to analyze the diverse ways the selected works address the themes of settler colonialism, peoplehood, and cultural resilience. Through close reading and examination of the author’s use of narrative techniques, such as storytelling, language, and symbolism, they convey the multifaceted experiences and struggles of indigenous individuals and communities within a settler colonial context. The analysis emphasizes the importance of stories for cultural preservation and resistance, the significance of ceremonial cycles and language, and the symbolism of the land and landscape in reclaiming and reaffirming indigenous peoplehood.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Renissa R. Gannie

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

169 pgs

Discipline

English literature, Literature

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