Predicament Of Indian Tribal Culture Inheritance In Fools Crow

James Welch's Fools Crow was published in 1986.It is a historical novel.Fools Crow portrayed traditional life of the indigenous people through numerous vivid scenes including native people's communication with animals and Manitou(Indian deity),performance of religious ceremonies.In addition,dreams play the role of oracles in their daily life.All these scenes add local color to the novel,making it a rich cultural carrier and distinctive masterpiece in the Native American Renaissance and it was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize,American Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award.However,no special studies on the novel have been conducted at home so far.Relevant studies abroad,despite their large numbers,are not systematic because of the dispersion of research perspectives.Moreover,in spite of the distinctive native cultural elements in the novel,no articles or theses related to the succession of Indian tribal culture could be found.Hence,it will be both creative and feasible to appreciate the novel and analyze the predicament of tribal culture inheritance from a post-colonial perspective.Said's multiculturalism,Fanon's ideas of national culture and Bhabha's hybridity are applied in this thesis as theoretical supports.These theories will be combined with characteristic Indian tribal culture,the history between Indians and white settlers and the growth of Indian young people to analyze the succession of tribal culture.The thesis starts with analyzing the decline of various kinds of Indian culture including sun dance and medicine bundles;then,based on historical facts and the conflicts between white settlers and Indians in the novel,the thesis explores the reasons of tribal culture decline,focusing on cultural infiltration and destruction through trade,treaty and disease as well as white settlers' armed suppression against native people's resistance.Finally the thesis discusses identity problems and choices confronted by Indian tribal people under both historical and current circumstances.Important characters in the novel are chosen as representatives and they are divided into two different kinds:those who disconnect themselves with tribal culture and those who hold their Indian identities.Different identity choices illustrate that in spite of difficult circumstances,Indian culture won't die away under infiltration and destruction from white culture because those who persist in Indian identities are the future of tribal culture and will bring possibility to the inheritance of culture.Fools Crow is not only a carrier of rich Indian culture but also a masterpiece which embodies Welch's retrospect of Indian history and concern over the inheritance of Indian tribal culture.Hence,study from the perspective of culture inheritance will reveal the cultural uniqueness of the novel and at the same time follow the trend of multiculturalism in the new century.