''A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present'' (1997) is a book which was written by

Ward Churchill Ward LeRoy Churchill (born 1947) is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007.

. ''A Little Matter of Genocide'' surveys

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

from 1492 to the present. Churchill compares the treatment of North American Indians to historical instances of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, Turks against

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

, and Europeans against the

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

, as well as

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

against the

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Academic context

Churchill has debated over the singularity of

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

with historian

Deborah Lipstadt Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18, 1947) is an American historian, best known as author of the books ''Denying the Holocaust'' (1993), ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'' (2005), ''The Eichmann Trial'' (2011), and ' ...

. In a 1996 review of Lipstadt’s book which is titled ''Denying the Holocaust'', Churchill defended the German philosopher

Ernst Nolte Ernst Nolte (11 January 1923 – 18 August 2016) was a German historian and philosopher. Nolte's major interest was the comparative studies of fascism and communism (cf. Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism). Originally trained in philosophy, he was ...

, whom Lipstadt criticized for asserting that the Holocaust was a non-singular event. Churchill argues that the Holocaust was just one of many genocides, in opposition to Lipstadt, who argues that the Holocaust was a singular event. In ''A Little Matter of Genocide'', Churchill accuses Lipstadt of denying the

of Native Americans, notwithstanding his respect for her work. Churchill argues that by claiming that the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

cannot be equated to anything else in

human history Human history, also called world history, is the narrative of humanity's past. It is understood and studied through anthropology, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics. Since the invention of writing, human history has been studied throug ...

, citing its uniqueness, one does not recognize the genocide of Native Americans to be as morally despicable as the

, and one also denies the true nature of that genocide.

Ward Churchill Ward LeRoy Churchill (born 1947) is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007.

, ''A Little Matter Of Genocide: Holocaust And Denial In The Americas 1492 To The Present'' (San Francisco CA:

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected tit ...

, 1998) 31-53. (paperback); (hardcover)).

Ward Churchill Ward LeRoy Churchill (born 1947) is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007.

"Forbidding the "G-Word": Holocaust Denial as Judicial Doctrine in Canada,"
'' Other Voices'' 2.1 (February 2000), accessed February 13, 2007.

Synopsis

The author argues that the indigenous populations of the Americas were subjected to a systematic campaign of extermination by settler colonialism and the expansion of what is now known as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Churchill provides a detailed account of the history of indigenous peoples and the history of their relations with the European colonizers. He argues that the violence against indigenous peoples was not limited to individual incidents, instead, it constituted a systematic genocide that continued even after the formal end of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. The book also discusses the United States government's complicity in this genocide, particularly through policies such as the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

and the forced assimilation of indigenous children in

American Indian boarding schools American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...

. Churchill argues that these policies were designed to eradicate indigenous cultures and communities, and he also argues that these policies have had a lasting impact on indigenous populations in the United States and elsewhere. He explains the 40 year reluctance of the United States in ratifying the Genocide Convention.

Publishing information

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Matter Of Genocide 1997 non-fiction books Non-fiction books about Native Americans Books by Ward Churchill City Lights Publishers books