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Patrick Wolfe’s analysis of genocide and settler colonization brings in the aspect of cultural and physical genocide in relation to Native American populations. A large part of his discussion consists of why genocide is used and how it is implemented. Racial stratification, he claims, is one of the tools that settlers use to justify removal. Permanence and ownership by these “inferior populations” were the great threats that spurred settler violence against indigenous peoples. Settler colonialism for Wolfe is an act of elimination, but not necessarily death. The land is the object of importance, and it is sought after by any means necessary. I believe that Wolfe is entirely correct in his judgment that the genocide used to terminate the culture not only comes from the destruction of their physical bodies, but also through the assimilation and/or coerced integration to the settler society. Olivia discusses this in her post, “Indian Removal: A Cultural Genocide.” I believe she has a strong point in saying that cultural destruction is a condemnable act and that it cannot be ignored as one of the most destructive tools used against Native populations.
I have had extensive experience with Native Americans in Montana, as sports teams, family vacations, and other academic endeavors often took me through the many reservations there. Though Wolfe may seem overly dramatic in his assessment of colonization, I cannot say that he is wrong. Assimilation was the most powerful genocidal tool in Montana. Many of the adult males were killed in conflict and the people were removed from their traditional lands, but the true devastation (and much of the long-lasting impact) came from assimilation practices. Wolfe interestingly does not spend much time discussing boarding schools and the forced extraction of Native children, particularly girls, that was done in order to “properly raise” them in white society. The children were taken away from the reservations at a very young age so that they could receive an education that would prepare them for life outside of the reservations, and they were simultaneously encouraged to look down on their birth culture and ancestry. The effects of this practice were profound and unbelievably destructive. In Montana in particular, this was a widely implemented practice driven by Federal programs. Pratt shines light on the goals of this mission, through his statement that “…all Indian that there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him and save the man” (397). These boarding school programs doubly achieved this initiative. Family connections, in the native cultures that I am familiar with, are extremely strong. Thus the families left behind were weakened, and the constant threat that their child would be hurt kept them subdued. The child was also raised in a way that Indian culture became unfamiliar.
The results of this practice, and the proximity of so many successful members of the settler society, have caused a precipitous decline in proud, active members of Native tribes. Many of the members have left tribes in search of the American dream. Many have not only become assimilated into standard American culture, but were eager to do so. Many in my generation loathe how destitute the reservations have become and leave them as soon as possible. Much of the cultural genocide has been thorough in Montana, and I believe that Wolfe expresses the connected nature of it all very well.