I was fascinated to find out that there is fantasy fiction out there being written by American Indian authors. Especially since the books can be read as analogical to the relationship between Americans and American Indians. To me as a teacher, that gives me a way to help students see the conflicts between American and American Indians in a fresh light, one untainted by years of cultural inculcation.
Another thing that caught my eye was the use of the epithet redskin for American Indians. I noted in my response to that post that American Indians have also been called savages and Tawnies. I wander if there is a changing lexicon of racial epithets as different Western understandings of American Indians come into vogue?
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Rob,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there were fantasy fiction novels being written by American Indians either. I would love to read some because, as you said,the books would shed a brand new light on the struggles of being an American Indian but in a fantasy realm.
Since you are interested in fantasy novels written by minorities, I highly recommend "47" by Walter Mosley. This book is about a young slave who meets a mysterious slave named 47. I'm not spoiling any major plot points but 47 is actually an extraterrestrial sent to help the young slave. It is a very interesting sci-fi-ish take on the slave narrative and one that I would also like hope to use in my classroom as a teacher.
Ryan