“Scorched Earth”

This article examines the long-standing tradition of indigenous crime fiction through a close look at Louise Erdrich’s novel The Round House. Focusing on Erdrich’s depiction of the brutal rape of an indigenous woman, it examines the long-term consequences of the crime on the victim’s immediate family, arguing that it symbolises a continuation of the historical transgressions wrought against indigenous peoples by settler communities. In this way, the chapter suggests that the impetus behind the rape lies in a separate act that speaks to a specific type of recursive criminality deeply rooted within the power structures of colonialism.