THE IMAGE OF “OTHER” IN PAUL KANE’S WANDERINGS OF AN ARTIST AMONG THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

Paul Kane’s Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North America is a work in which Kane draws illustrative pictures of North American Indians and writes his experiences he had during the time span of a four year that he spent travelling among the Chippeways, Crees, Sioux and Blackfeet tribes of North American Indians. Though Kane’s work reflects a European gaze on Indians which can be framed with the ideology of white supremacy, it is not grounded on hostile intentions for Indian people. Kane acknowledges Indian people’s “wild nature”, yet, contrary to the ideology of settler colonialism which is mainly based on the claim for land and gradual erasure of native agency, he mostly insists on the valuable aspects of native people’s cultural life. Accordingly, this paper aims to show Paul Kane’s awareness of this erasure, and his effort to catch the image of Indian as an Other that struggles to exist in his/her Self which will diminish in time.

Keywords

• Paul Kane
• Other
• Settler Colonialism

PAUL KANE’İN WANDERINGS OF AN ARTIST AMONG THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA ESERİNDE “ÖTEKİ” İMAJI

Abstract

Paul Kane’in Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North America adlı eseri, Kane’in Kuzey Amerika yerlilerini tasvir eden resimler çizdiği ve Kuzey Amerika’nın Chippeway, Cree, Sioux ve Blackfeet kabilerleri arasında geçirdiği dört yıllık süre boyunca edindiği deneyimlerini yazdığı bir çalışmadır. Kane’in çalışması, yerliler üzerindeki beyaz ırkın üstünlüğü ideolojisiyle çerçevelenen Avrupa bakışını yansıtsa da, yerli halk için düşmanca niyetlere dayandırılmamaktadır. Kane, yerli halkın “vahşi doğa”sını kabul etmekle birlikte, esas olarak toprak talebine ve yerel hakimiyetin kademeli olarak silinmesi amacına dayanan yerleşimci sömürgecilik ideolojisinin aksine, çoğunlukla yerli halkın kültürel yaşamının değerli yönleri üzerinde ısrar etmektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bu çalışma Paul Kane’nin bu konudaki farkındalığını ve zamanla azalacak olan kendi Benliğinde var olmak için mücadele eden yerlinin Öteki olarak imajını yakalama çabasını göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Paul Kane
• Other
• settler colonialism

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