- p. 1 power of disinformation
- p. 1 stereotypes as a tool for dehumanization
- p. 5 good overview of the situation of colonialism in the U.S.A.
- p. 6 irony and importance of mineral resources w/r/t/ reserves.
- p. 6 the function of myths in avoiding cognitive dissonance
- p. 6/7 the myth of benevolence
- p. 7 the statistical paradox of native resources per capita vs. actual poverty
- p. 8/9 the foundational position of extraction of native wealth with respect to U.S. wealth makes it important to justify that extraction.
- p. 9 the centrality of "progress" to justifications for colonialism
- p. 9/10 co-opting of natives to confuse the issue of authenticity & will
- p. 10 confusing the issue of oppression is just as good as denying it
- p. 10 the myth that Natives already have self-determination
- p. 11 the myth that colonialism no longer exists
- p. 11 defining the "good/real" Native as subservient and agreeable (villagers!)
p. 11 media industries are an important part of the colonialist project
- p. 17 fiction and fact; colonialist writing
- p. 18 blurring the line between fact and fiction as traditional with respect to Native Americans as the subject matter
- p. 19 myths as fact + fiction together
- p. 19 mythologization is logical when colonialism is considered (myths are "convenient" or "expedient")
- p. 20/21 writings at the time of colonization: original myths.
- p. 21 "simplicity" of Indigenous lifestyles as a myth
- p. 22 four specific stereotypes: the subhuman that is nevertheless dangerous, the godless that must be civilized, the "noble savage," and the inherently/irredeemably evil "criminal."
- The first and third play out in villagers
- The first and fourth play out in monsters
- The second and fourth play out in illagers
- p. 22/23 the (entirely fictitious) victim narrative
- p. 23 victim fictions as "evidence"
- p. 25 the foundations of modern Native stereotypes
- p. 26 literary fabrication of exogenous cultures as a literary "Manifest Destiny"
- p. 26 gap between oral tradition and literate tradition
- p. 26 "historical record" based mostly on one-sided fictions
- p. 28 stereotyping as a tool for dehumanization
- p. 29 dehumanization as a historical requirement of imperial process: the majority must accept the brutality of colonization for it to continue
- p. 29 cites Fanon in Wretched of the Earth about colonialism distorting the past of the colonized
- p. 30 (in citation): two critical distinctions to reconcile Enlightenment humanism with colonization and imperialism: Christian/heathen and civilized/savage.
- p. 30 cultural access to these distinctions on the part of initial English colonizers determined how they related to Native Americans, which illustrates the importance of the determinants of that culture.
- p. 31 there aren't enough shock troops, so less brutal "Mother country" citizens must be convinced, and that's one purpose of such narratives.
- p. 32 a shift to emphasize "inevitability and moral correctness" of colonization
- p. 32 indefinite expansion requires indefinite war, which needs to be provoked and sanctioned by literature (captive narratives)
- p. 33 after the American Revolution, there was a need to construct a patriotic American history, which required more fictionalization of the past.
- p. 33 mythologizing must be continuous to keep Native cultures apart from their histories and national cultures (more citation of Fanon)
- p. 34 during formative period of American literature, the "Indian" was a dominant role because of ongoing colonization, and that role served definite purposes of Euroamerican supremacy.
- p. 35 aesthetic doctrine reserves interpretation/recording of history as the domain of the literate; this developed in parallel with the idea of Manifest Destiny.
- While Manifest Destiny has fallen out of favor, literary predominance has been accepted as a dominant social norm
- p. 35 important function of literature to stave off national guilt; myth of benevolence was the tool in this case
- p. 36 importance of literature in training Native Americans to self-colonize
- This explains why literature continues to stereotype the "Indian" a century or more after direct colonial invasion was complete
- p. 37 malice isn't integral to perpetuation of Indigenous stereotypes: fear/guilt/greed are enough.
p. 37 direct approach no longer needed/possible; an indirect approach replaces it
p. 43 the displacement of authenticity echoes how Orientalism re-constructs its subject thereby re-possessing it.
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