Although 19th-century science fiction often reflected the bias of European colonialism, the 1898 novel “The War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells famously imagined a reverse scenario in which terrorized Europeans are victims of advanced Martian technology. The Brazilian artist Henrique Alvim-Corrêa (1876–1910) produced this illustration and many others for a limited edition French translation, ”La guerre des mondes,” published in Brussels, Belgium, in 1906.
“WE ARE RISING FROM THE APOCALYPSE, FOLDING THE PAST INTO OUR PRESENT AND WRITING A FUTURE THAT IS DECIDEDLY INDIGENOUS.”
— REBECCA ROANHORSE (OHKAY OWINGEH PUEBLO)
Rebecca Roanhorse at Comic Con New York on October 5, 2019, promoting her upcoming book ”Resistance Reborn (Star Wars): Journey to Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker.” This installment in the “Star Wars” novel series provides a prequel to this December’s blockbuster movie release.
envision the reverse scenario, in which aliens with superior technology invade hapless Eu- ropeans, as in H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds.” In a story in the December 1962 issue of “Galaxy”, the unsung genius Kris Neville even wrote of a colonial terraforming enterprise being called to account for genocide against a Native population. But Dillon, and Roanhorse herself, reject
an obsession with colonialism. Dillon’s final theme is “Biskaabiiyang,” the Anishinaabe word she translates as “returning to ourselves.” Roanhorse says she refuses to be defined by the colonial experience and rather seeks to recover the Native place in the universe. In her essay “Postcards from the Apocalypse,” she states, “We are rising from the apocalypse, folding the past into our present and writing a future that is decidedly Indigenous.”
The Sixth World
The road Roanhorse took to her Native sci-fi future had a few detours. She was raised in Fort Worth, Texas, but looked to the Northeast for college. “I wanted to get as far away from
10 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2019
Texas as I could,” she said. On a scouting trip to Brown with her father in 1988, they stopped in New Haven, Connecticut, and realized that Yale University was only a few miles away. Although they hadn’t considered it at first because of “its conservative, blue-blood reputation,” Roan- horse was awed by its neo-Gothic buildings and entered the next year, graduating in the Class of 1993. She majored in religious studies and earned an advanced degree at Union Theo- logical Seminary. She worked as a computer programmer for 10 years and then decided to enter law school to work on tribal issues. She earned a law degree at the University of New Mexico School of Law. But boredom set in. Since she was in grade school, she had amused herself by writing sci-fi. About five years ago, friends encouraged her to find a publisher. To her surprise, a contract followed quickly. Since then, her writing career has entered
warp speed. Her 2017 short story “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience” swept the major sci-fi writing awards. She is a regu- lar in anthologies, both print and online. She has spanned the sci-fi market with an entry in
PHOTO BY OPEN CULTURE, LLC
PHOTO BY THERESA BARBARO
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