The Salem witch hunt and native Americans: Analysis of their relationship in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Lois the witch

Abstract

The United States is considered to be a kaleidoscope of numerous cultures. People from a diversity of backgrounds cohabit the country and for centuries now there has been a connection among a variety of them, including English, Afro-American, Asian or Indian, to name a few. One of the cultures with the richest heritage, which inhabited the country since prior to the arrival of colonisers is the Native American. Despite the number of American indians falling at a rapid speed with the arrival of colonisers and being forced to remain in certain reservations and isolated, they still comprise a relevant number of the population, a number that has been increasing in recent years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020, from 2010 to 2020 the American Indian and Alaska Native population has increased by a 160%. Some of the reasons behind this increase might be found in the fact that many of them find themselves proud of their heritage, claiming their status as Indian Americans (Fesser, 2022) after being encouraged to embrace their identity as fully or multiracial people (Chavez and Kaur, 2021). This encouragement and interest in accepting one’s Indian American heritage may come, among other aspects, from the increase in the interest in multiculturalism especially found in young people, mostly in social media and the internet in general. What is more, organisations and groups of people are working together encouraging to demonstrate the diversity in order to prevent entire cultures from being extinguished. Likewise, literature, art and popular culture have played a paramount role in the representation of Native Americans and other minorities, making them relevant for society in general for centuries now and attempting to reduce the stereotyping and generalization that is quite spread about them. Focusing on literature itself, many writers have paid attention to Native Americans and have defended their identity and relevance as a community for centuries, portraying their diversity and approaching readers of any background or interest to their customs, traditions and diversity.