Indigenous Identity and Cultural Resistance in Brandon Hobson’s The Removed

Abstract

The diverse Native American tribes have seen the worst bloodsheds since the day one of their encounters with the colonizers. The sharp cultural distinction between the white and the others continue even today, which ultimately result in the literary creation. The indigenous American literature is the counter narrative that resists the cultural imposition. Brandon Hobson is a prominent Native American writer of the present times. His uncompromising works and shorts stories have created great impact of in the Native American literary arena. The Removed (2021) a novel is written by Brandon Hobson. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The novel explores grief, memory, identity, and Indigenous spirituality through the experiences of a Cherokee family and its dealing with loss. The novel centres on the Echota family, who struggle with the death of their son Ray-Ray. He was shot and killed by a white police officer. Every year, the family gathers to remember him on the anniversary of his death. During one such gathering, each family member confronts their grief and unresolved trauma. Throughout this novel, Hobson writes about the indigenous identity and cultural trauma faced by natives due to the false American identity. This paper attempts to explore Native American trauma and indigenous identity in The Removed by Brandon Hobson.