Was Cherokee Writer William Sanders the First Victim of Cancel Culture? or, The Powwow Dancer vs. the People of Privilege
I feel a little guilty putting “Cherokee” in the headline. It’s important information, especially since William Sanders was proud of his heritage — his biographies mention that he was a powwow dancer, and his stories often featured Native Americans — but Sanders, like many writers of color of his generation, did not want his work defined by his social identities. He said, “Better to define myself by what I do: I am a writer.”
To be precise, he was a highly respected writer and editor who was valued for bringing an under-represented viewpoint to the science fiction genre. At the beginning of 2008, he seemed to be winning the attention he deserved: He had won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History twice, his online magazine, Helix, had been nominated for a Hugo Award, and he had been invited to be the 2010 Guest of Honor at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, aka ICFA.
But in the summer of 2008, to use today’s terms, he was canceled. ICFA rescinded its invitation, Helix may have failed to win in its category because of Sanders’ cancellation, and since then, the people who talk about diversity in science fiction rarely mention the genre’s first Cherokee writer. If you believe as I do that…
