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Articles

Volume 18, Number 1 (1993)

"Her Blood is Mingled with Her Ancient Foes": The Concepts of Blood, Race and 'Miscegenation' in the Poetry and Short Fiction of Duncan Campbell Scott

  • Lisa Salem
Submitted
May 22, 2008
Published
1993-01-01

Abstract

An examination of Duncan Campbell Scott's writing reveals a consistency between his 'outer' position as a civil servant and his 'inner' position as a writer who depicted Native people in his poetry and short fiction; his creative work provided imaginative expression of a colonialist ideology. Scott's treatment of the mixed-blood characters in his writings reveals a view of culture as an inherited quality, defined by one's blood, which can be altered in future generations through intermarriage and enforced through education in the ways of civilization. Through his depiction of mixed-blood characters who are both defined and limited by contrasting sets of characteristics 'inherent' in their blood, Scott reveals the belief that Native people possessed a 'savage' nature, which was determined by their blood. Scott's poetry and short fiction provide insight into the ideological context in which these works were created.