The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America is a 2012 nonfiction book by Thomas King about the history of Indian-White relations. King is a novelist of Cherokee descent, and The Inconvenient Indian is his first book of nonfiction. The book was awarded the CBA Libris Award for Best Non-Fiction Book in 2013. This guide follows the first edition of the book.

In the Prologue, “Warm Toast and Porcupines,” King explains how his book differs from traditional history books. While most historians would attempt to present the facts from a chronological and objective point of view, King sees his writing as more akin to storytelling and regularly uses personal anecdotes. King also explains that he will generally use the term “Indian” to refer to Native American peoples, though he also uses Native, Aboriginal, and other names. Chapter 1 begins with a discussion of how Indian history is often based more upon myth and rumor than fact. King discusses Louis Riel and General Custer, who upon death were transformed into martyrs whose cultural representations often deviate wildly from their actual lives.

Chapter 2 continues this discussion of cultural representations of Indians by considering how racism has influenced the types of Indian characters seen in television and film. King argues that most Indians in film are presented as being savage and primitive compared to the White characters. In Chapter 3 King argues that most Indian representations in US culture are what he calls “Dead Indians,” or amalgamations of symbols that have little to do with how actual Indians live.

In Chapter 4 King turns to the history of Indian-White relations, observing how different government policies have impacted living Indians throughout North American history. King describes how Indian relations were governed by various treaties from the start of Indian-White encounters, which sought to delineate which land belonged to Indians and which to Whites. Beginning in 1830 with Andrew Jackson, governments switched to a policy of removal, which sought to break treaties and force Indians to move to new territories further west to make room for American expansion.

Chapters 5 and 6 focus on the policies of assimilation and allotment, respectively; both sought to push Indians to adopt Western social customs. One of the main proponents of assimilation was Richard Pratt, whose residential schools separated Indian children from their families and used harsh and abusive disciplinary tactics to Westernize them. Allotment sought to teach Indians to enter into a capitalist economy by breaking up communally owned tribal reservations and turning them into small parcels of private land.

In Chapter 7 King switches from Indian history to consider the contemporary issues confronting Indians in North America. King argues that White racism against Indians is not a thing of the past and that many of the racist attitudes that motivated past violence continue to exist today. Chapter 8 focuses on the concept of sovereignty, which remains a point of contention between Indian tribes and the US and Canadian governments. Though many Indians desire to be treated as fully sovereign nations, both the United States and Canada pursue policies that would eliminate reservations and fully integrate Indian tribes into their respective nations.

In Chapter 9 King argues that the single thing motivating Whites throughout North American history has been their desire for land. King describes how the various treaties created by Whites always resulted in Native land loss, and tells six different anecdotes in which the US and Canadian governments were reluctant to give up land that rightfully belonged to Indian tribes. In Chapter 10 King discusses the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, two deals between Indians and Whites that he feels were settled positively. Though each deal has its flaws, King asserts that both represent a fairer compromise between Indians and Whites.