本文旨在探討歐美殖民主義對美國原住民部落所造成的衝擊及殖民困境，包括原住民的部落生存、文化存亡及失去土地等重要議題，並嘗試從生態角度來解決美國印第安人所面對的殖民困境。在歐洲移民入侵美洲大陸後，這些原住民部落的生命財產、文化及個人認同備受威脅。於是，不論是奇歐瓦族的莫馬迪（N. Scott Momaday）、黑腳族的威爾曲（James Welch）或齊佩瓦族的鄂翠曲（Louise Erdrich）等作家，他們均試圖喚起其部落意識，以恢復認同和保存原住民文化為職責。這三位作家有一個共識：重回部落文化，即從土地出發找尋自己的根，來對抗主流的美國文化。  
    論文主要分為三部分。第一章處理《日昇之屋》（House Made of Dawn）中的認同問題，莫馬迪在這本小說中描寫一個部落青年亞柏（Abel）對部落文化不認同，在主流美國社會又得不到認同的情況下，所造成的認同危機。幸而得到在洛杉磯室友班諾利（Ben Benally）之助，亞柏始得返回部落社會，重新接觸部落文化及儀典，並重建自己的部落認同。   
    第二章分析《愚弄鴉族》（Fools Crow）一書中的殖民困境。此書的場景為殖民早期，當時的黑腳人受到的殖民威脅主要是土地的失去與新疾病入侵。在武力上，黑腳人不敵歐美移民者；因此，他們被迫與移民者共存。然而，在面對新疾病時，黑腳人的傳統醫學卻又無力處理，黑腳族的生存也因此面臨空前的挑戰。與小說同名的故事主角弄鴉（Fools Crow）於是展開其追尋靈視（vision quest）旅程，試圖解決族人所面臨的殖民困境。很幸運地，在旅途中，他透過天賦靈力，預視其族人不樂觀的未來（天花重挫其部落、黑腳子孫上白人學校），但他也得知，只要族人能堅持其口語傳統，黑腳文化還是得以留傳後世。 
    第三章討論《蹤跡》（Tracks）中所呈現的齊佩瓦族的殖民困境：飢荒、疾病、土地被佔及文化失傳。部落老人納納布許（Nanapush）藉由對孫女露露（Lulu）所說的故事來傳承其部落歷史、文化及強調土地對部落族人的重要性。換句話說，納納布許以美國原住民的口語傳統──說故事──來拯救其部落生存。

In this dissertation, I look at three American Indian novels—N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn, James Welch’s Fools Crow, and Louise Erdrich’s Tracks and examine the colonial predicament of the three tribes—the Pueblos, Pikunis, and Ojibwes. I study these three novels because they carry a same theme: their resistance of colonialism and their solution resorting to ecology. After the arrival of the white colonizers, numerous American Indians lose their lives, land and culture. Tribal survival thus arouses collective awareness of many indigenous writers from different tribes—Kiowa, Blackfeet, Anishinaabe, etc. These native authors seek to find back their tribal identity and preserve their tribal culture as a resistance to mainstream Euroamerican society’s forced assimilation and better circumstances for their people. 
	In Chapter One, “Identity Loss and Identity Recovery in House Made of Dawn,” I focus on identity loss and recovery of the Jemez Pueblo protagonist Abel in N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn. This story is about an Indian youth’s quest for his lost identity. With the help of his Indian roommate Ben Benally in Los Angeles and his tribal ceremonies, Abel gives up his life in the mainstream American world, realizes the significance of his tribal culture, decides to go home, and finally regains his identity as an Indian in his own homeland. 
	In Chapter Two, “Tribal Welfare and Tribal Future in James Welch’s Fools Crow,” I will explore how Pikunis deal with their predicament of colonialism in the face of crisis from the loss of their population, culture, and land. I start with the comparison among three Pikuni youths—White Man’s Dog, Running Fisher, and Fast Horse—as a way to emphasize the values and wisdom of the Blackfeet. The novel portrays Blackfeet’s early contact with Europeans and Pikunis’ struggle against smallpox and the white men’s encroachment. It is an era during which the Blackfeet are threatened by political and cultural conflicts between themselves and Euroamericans. When the fatal disease causes the death of more than half of Pikuni population Fools Crow undertakes his vision quest for the future of his tribal people. When he meets Feather Woman, he learns that there is still hope for his tribe only if Pikunis can successfully pass down their stories.
	In Chapter Three, “Speaking for the Land in Louise Erdrich’s Tracks,” I will discuss the Chippewa’s predicament such as the starvation during the winter of 1918-1919, the destruction of the ecological balance in North Dakota, the epidemic of consumption disease among the Chippewas, Pauline Puyat’s adoration of Western culture and her fanatic religious behavior, the auction of Fleur’s land and her reluctant decision to send Lulu to boarding school.
In the Conclusion, I discuss Native Americans’ solution to their colonial predicament—“ecology as healing.” With their tribal knowledge about nature, the Pueblos, Pikunis, and Chippewas get to preserve their land and culture.

Chinese Abstract -------------------------------------- ii
English Abstract -------------------------------------- iii
Acknowledgments --------------------------------------- v

Contents
Introduction ------------------------------------------ 1

Chapter One ------------------------------------------- 23
	   
Self and Other: Identity Loss and Recovery in N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn

Chapter Two ------------------------------------------- 62

   Tribal Welfare and Tribal Future in James Welch’s Fools Crow

Chapter Three ----------------------------------------- 102

   Speaking for the Land in Louise Erdrich’s Tracks

Conclusion -------------------------------------------- 133

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