Contesting Erasure: Historical Memory and Literary Survivance in American and Native American Narratives

AbstractThis paper explores the intersections between contemporary American andNative American literatures through the dual lenses of historical memory andcultural survivance. The study critically examines how selected literary worksfrom both traditions confront hegemonic narratives, resist historical erasure,and assert suppressed histories. Drawing upon postcolonial theory, decolonialdiscourse, and Indigenous literary methodologies, the paper positions literatureas a crucial medium for re-inscribing marginalized perspectives into culturalmemory. Native American authors such as Leslie Marmon Silko, ShermanAlexie, and Louise Erdrich demonstrate how oral traditions, cyclicaltemporality, and spiritual cosmologies foster resilience against settler colonialstructures. Meanwhile, American authors like Toni Morrison and CormacMcCarthy offer parallel critiques, revisiting the legacies of slavery andManifest Destiny through narrative fragmentation and historical revisionism.By engaging with critical voices including Gerald Vizenor, Paula Gunn Allen,Patrick Wolfe, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, HomiBhabha, and Edward Said, thispaper underscores literature’s transformative power in challenging culturaldomination and fostering counter-memory. The comparative approach revealscommon strategies deployed by Native American and contemporary Americanwriters to reframe the past and resist cultural disappearance. Ultimately, theresearch highlights literature’s role as both an archive and a dynamic force ofsocial resistance, opening new spaces for dialogue, healing, and historicalaccountability.Keywords: historical memory, cultural survivance, Native Americanliterature, counter-narratives, postcolonial theory