Constructions of North American Indigeneity in Contemporary Polish Non-fiction

ForPoland almost theParyż, Marek entire twentieth century, literary works about the North American Indigene enjoyed immense popularity in Poland, but the so-called “Indian novel” declined after the political breakthrough of 1989 as a result of far-reaching cultural changes that, among other things, dramatically affected the PolishPoland book market. Whereas the “Indian novel” is not likely to be reborn, a market has recently emerged in Poland for non-fictionNon-fiction accounts of the American WestAmerican West and of the history and contemporary life of North America’s Indigenous people. The article discusses three works exemplifying this phenomenon: Otwarta rana Ameryki (America’s open wound) by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-BoehmZiółkowska-Boehm, Aleksandra (2007), Powrócę jako pioru. Krótka historia Dzikiego Zachodu (I’ll come back as thunder: A short history of the Wild WestWild West) by Maciej JarkowiecJarkowiec, Maciej (2018), and 27 śmierci Toby’ego Obeda (27 deaths of Toby ObedObed, Toby) by Joanna Gierak-OnoszkoGierak-Onoszko, Joanna (2019). These books combine historical narratives with accounts of the present-day life of Native American communities, highlighting causal connections between epochs. This may be a way of justifying the prevailing bleak images of the contemporary situation of Indigenous North Americans. An important aspect of these books is the author’s self-positioning in the text, conditioned by the necessity to negotiate a balance between impartial observations and personal impressions. The three writers share a consciousness of their role as intermediaries between cultures; they admit that their perceptions are inevitably influenced by their background as Poles, and, at the same time, they strive to construct context-specific perspectives of describing the North American Indigenous past and present.