On the Reading List: Patrick Wolfe and J. Kēhaulani Kauanui

For today’s suggested reading, Marabou shares Patrick Wolfe’s article, “Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native” (2006). In this article, Wolfe explains his assertion that settler colonialism is a structure, not an event. Even though Wolfe’s work is not about museums, Marabou finds Wolfe’s explanation of settler colonialism’s structure and components very helpful in thinking about representation, particularly of indigenous populations in American museums. The lack of and invisibility of indigenous stories and voices in museums is directly tied to the idea that settler colonialism is based in the elimination of native populations.

On the Reading List: Patrick Wolfe and J. Kēhaulani Kauanui