The Disintegration of Native Identity in Zitkala-Sa’s “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” (1921)

Authors : Sümeyye Öztürk

Pages : 148-156

Doi:10.47777/cankujhss.1393020

View : 40 | Download : 60

Publication Date : 2024-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The article at hand aims to investigate the ways in which Indian identity disintegrates due to white acculturation. Rather than concentrating on a positive construction of Indianness as a result of white culture, the emphasis will be on the dissolution and oppression of Indian values. Most often, the process of successfully containing values from two or more groups, in particular Indian and American ways of living, has been the central issue in scholarly works. However, there seems to be a lack of insight in the field of investigating the breakdown of Indianness. Through the use of Devon A. Mihesuah’s adapted four life stages, it is thus the purpose of this paper to analyze Zitkala-Sa’s short story “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” (1921) so as to evaluate identity disintegration. The subsequent effects of cultural imposition will also be elaborated on as they seem essential in understanding identity conflicts and resolutions which are the prevalent themes in the autobiography.
Keywords : Indian Native Identity, Devon A Mihesuah, Impressions of an Indian Childhood, Zitkala Sa