The winning of the *West with words: Clearing the middle ground for American pioneers

James J Buss, Purdue University

Abstract

This dissertation explores the origins and continued use of popular western icons—"vanished" Indians, stalwart pioneers, frontier women, and rugged backwoodsmen—in an effort to connect these powerful images to a larger discussion about the continuing influence of colonialism in America. The study examines a wide range of sources, including treaty council proceedings, government reports, popular literature, newspaper editorials, private journals, artistic representations, fairs, pageants, and parades, in order to highlight the pervasiveness of America's narrative of conquest and colonization. It argues that the increasingly popular image of the white yeoman pioneer propped up powerful American narratives about western expansion, expanding American democracy, and unlimited national progress while simultaneously disempowering and dispossessing America's indigenous peoples by imaginatively clearing the landscape and creating a blank slate in the mind's eye of white Americans for unfettered settlement by American pioneers. "The Winning of the West with Words" contributes to our understanding of history and memory by placing the remembrances and recollections of nineteenth and twentieth-century whites within the larger, and longer, context of American colonialism. While some may argue that late nineteenth and early twentieth century accounts of the "vanished" Indian and stalwart pioneer emerged in an age of renewed American imperialism, this dissertation suggests that the images and, most importantly, the language of colonialism have existed far longer. This new understanding of historical memory, especially in dealing with the continued colonial relationship between Native Americans and white Americans, promises to shed light on contemporary issues, such as disputes over the appropriation of American Indian images as sports mascots and sovereignty rights for North America's indigenous peoples.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Larson, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American studies|American history|Native Americans|Native studies

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