Beyond erasure: Indigenous genocide denial and settler colonialism

I argue that Indigenous genocide denial allows for the continuation and emergence of settler colonial ideology, processes, and practices. Decolonial and sovereignty efforts that emphasize Indigenous cultural resurgence are essential to challenge the internalization and naturalization of settler colonial ideals. While external modes of colonialism include the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands and the recasting of Native bodies and land as resources to be exploited, internal modes include biopolitical and geopolitical methods of control, such as schooling, criminalization, segregation, and minoritizing (Tuck & Yang, 2012). Additionally, I argue that heteropatriarchal ideals have been internalized and naturalized within Indigenous communities. The presence of homophobia, transphobia, and sexism within Indigenous communities demonstrate the pervasiveness of settler colonialism. Finally, I argue that cultural resurgent decolonial and sovereignty efforts challenge the internalization of settler colonial ideals by revitalizing Indigenous cultural traditions that accept gender and sexuality diversity and emphasize the power and authority of women. Michelle Stanley is a graduate student in the Public Administration Master’s program at UNC Charlotte, where she also works as a University Program Associate in the Office of Institutional Research. She received a post-baccalaureate graduate certificate in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies and a BA in Sociology and Psychology, with a Minor in HGHR Studies, from UNC Charlotte. Her research interests include critical Indigenous studies, Indigenous feminisms, and racial and gender inequality within nonprofit organizations. Michelle is an enrolled member of the Coharie Indian Tribe of Clinton, North Carolina.