Did Native Americans suffer genocide? This controversial question lies at the heart of Native America and the Question of Genocide. After reviewing the various meanings of the word “genocide,” author Alex Alvarez examines a range of well-known examples, such as the Sand Creek Massacre and the Long Walk of the Navajo, to determine where genocide occurred and where it did not. The book explores the destructive beliefs of the European settlers and then looks at topics including disease, war, and education through the lens of genocide. Native America and the Question of Genocide shows the diversity of Native American experiences postcontact and illustrates how tribes relied on ever-evolving and changing strategies of confrontation and accommodation, depending on their location, the time period, and individuals involved, and how these often resulted in very different experiences. Alvarez treats this difficult subject with sensitivity and uncovers the complex realities of this troubling period in American history. “Many Native American activists have claimed that their peoples have been subjected to genocide since the arrival of the first Europeans to the Americas. In this work, Alvarez seeks to determine whether the assertions are correct. He provides a detailed examination of various definitions of genocide―which he defines as the implementation of a strategy designed to exterminate a group of people―how they are applied and why. According to the author, planning and intent are the key aspects lacking in much of the evidence put forth to support the accusations. It has been argued that disease was used as a weapon, but Alvarez demonstrates that this devastation was inadvertently transmitted. The author looks for collusion among the colonial-era Dutch, English, French, and Spanish, on a plan to eradicate the native peoples. To believe that European powers enacted such an effort would have denied Native Americans their own agency, yet they actively played European powers against one another to advance their interests. Alvarez acknowledges that many atrocities were committed by Euro-Americans but sees those as distinct from massacre. VERDICT. . . This book is essential reading for anyone interested in human rights as it is a primer on what genocide is and is not.” ― Library Journal, Starred Review “Alvarez takes up a set of challenging questions. Unlike many before him, he does not seek to advance a polemic, but instead reflects on the complexities of history, atrocity, and interpretation. He provides a useful introduction to Indian-white relations and the concept of genocide while considering the applicability of the latter to describe the former. Alvarez opens his discussion with a set of framing chapters devoted to precontact history, definitions of and debates about genocide, and the place of Indianness in Western thought. These lay a foundation for his deeper, more thematic chapters. In particular, Alvarez examines disease, wars and massacres, displacement, and efforts at assimilation, exploring the evidence and arguments over to what extent and in what ways each might constitute genocide. The author concludes with a meditation on the power of words, the limits of analysis, and the necessity of complexity. Alvarez writes in an approachable style, encouraging reflection on big questions and the competing answers to them. As such, this book should appeal to students and instructors alike in a wide range of fields, from American Indian studies to political science. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.” ― Choice Reviews “Arguing the term genocide is too often used as a blanket pronouncement based on 'a general sense of outrage and horror,' Alvarez (Violence: The Enduring Problem) turns to Native American history to provide a more nuanced understanding of the term. Throughout the book, the author gives examples of the varieties of contact between Europeans and natives of the Americas, including those of the Aztec and Inca. In most cases, these do not meet his definition of the term genocide. The decimation of Native Americans from small pox brought unwittingly by Europeans was not intentional and therefore not genocide. But giving Indians contaminated blankets in the hope that disease would, in the words of Major General Jeffrey Amherst: 'Extirpate this Execrable Race,' is genocide. While Alvarez condemns the many massacres and resettlements, he does not see them as genocide, since it was not the intent of the government to destroy the natives as a race. However, the author makes an excellent case for the intentional and long-term cultural genocide of Native Americans in the kidnapping of children for the purpose of 'acculturation.' The governmental attempt to destroy Native language, religion, history and culture, even under a misguided belief that this was a positive, 'civilizing' action is still cultural genocide. Alvarez gives a thought-provoking study that compels the reader to reexamine