MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Genocide denial is both endemic and epidemic in America. There were seven acts of genocide against Natives that took place in what became the US: smallpox spread deliberately by the British Army in the 1760s and American fur traders in the 1820s; the Trail of Tears; ethnic cleansing by the Republic of Texas; California Indian genocide; starvation warfare (buffalo slaughter); cultural genocide including forced adoptions; and forced sterilizations. The US government played a role in Twentieth Century genocides against Mayan Indians, and Peruvian Indians, and refused to act against the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide. Two US Presidents’ administrations, Reagan’s and Clinton’s, engaged in genocide denial, respectively of Mayas and Rwandans. These facts are known in academia. But except for the Trail of Tears, they are little heard by the American public and little represented in American popular culture. This is true though the last acts of genocide in the US (forced sterilizations and forced adoptions) only ended in the 1970s, and the last US role in genocide (against Peruvian Indians) only ended in 2000. Rather than being condemned, perpetrators of genocide like Andrew Jackson are often honored. Americans who deny genocide against Natives are common, not pariahs like Holocaust deniers. American deniers are often acclaimed and rewarded for it. American genocide denials come largely from ignorance and avoidance in public schools. This paper will look at both genocide denial and the rare instances of American involvement in genocides depicted in popular media and argue that teaching about the subjects should be central to American history courses, leading to its representation and understanding in popular culture far more.