Event Title
An American Genocide
Description
Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. In his talk, Benjamin Madley described precursors to the genocide before explaining how the Gold Rush stirred vigilante violence. He then narrated the rise of a state-sanctioned killing machine and the broad societal, judicial, and political support for genocide. Besides evaluating government official's culpability, Madley considered why the slaughter constituted genocide and how other possible genocides within and beyond the Americas might be investigated using the methods presented in this groundbreaking book.
Born in Redding, California, Ben Madley is a historian of Native America, the United States, and genocide in world history. He earned a B.A. at Yale University, an Master’s at Oxford University, and a Ph.D. at Yale. He then served as an Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College before joining the faculty at UCLA where he is now Associate Professor of History and Interim Chair of American Indian Studies. Ben has authored a dozen journal articles and book chapters. An American Genocide is his first book. It recently won the 2016 Heyday Books History Award.
Document Type
Video
Start Date
18-1-2017 4:00 PM
End Date
18-1-2017 5:30 PM
Location
Western Washington University
Resource Type
Moving Image
Title of Series
The Ray Wolpow Institute Invited Speakers
Genre/Form
lectures
Program
The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Indians of North America--California--History--19th century; Indians of North America--Crimes against--California--History--19th century; Genocide--California--History--19th century; Indians, Treatment of--North America; Indians of North America--California--Government relations
Geographic Coverage
California; North America
Keywords
California Indian catastrophe, State-sanctioned killing, Vigilante violence, Indigenous resistance
Type
Moving image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
video/mp4
An American Genocide
Western Washington University
Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. In his talk, Benjamin Madley described precursors to the genocide before explaining how the Gold Rush stirred vigilante violence. He then narrated the rise of a state-sanctioned killing machine and the broad societal, judicial, and political support for genocide. Besides evaluating government official's culpability, Madley considered why the slaughter constituted genocide and how other possible genocides within and beyond the Americas might be investigated using the methods presented in this groundbreaking book.
Born in Redding, California, Ben Madley is a historian of Native America, the United States, and genocide in world history. He earned a B.A. at Yale University, an Master’s at Oxford University, and a Ph.D. at Yale. He then served as an Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College before joining the faculty at UCLA where he is now Associate Professor of History and Interim Chair of American Indian Studies. Ben has authored a dozen journal articles and book chapters. An American Genocide is his first book. It recently won the 2016 Heyday Books History Award.