As a story that includes a hidden meaning and symbolic series of events, “Indian Camp” could be considered an allegory. On the surface, “Indian Camp” is about the (less-than-ideal) coming-of-age process of the young Nick Adams and, on a more hidden level, it is an allegory for the violence of European colonization.
The story’s allegorical nature is apparent from the opening scene, as a group of white men cross a body of water into Native territory, just as Europeans did when arriving in North America. What’s more, the white men’s interaction with the indigenous people they meet at first seems to be positive, as captured in the following passage:
Across the bay they found the other boat beached. Uncle George was smoking a cigar in the dark. The young Indian pulled the boat way up on the beach. Uncle George gave both the Indians cigars.
This moment is reminiscent of the initial offerings and pleasant relationship the white colonizers had with the Native people they met at the start of the North American colonial era.
The allegory continues with the white men taking charge once inside the Indian family’s shanty, sterilizing the space and treating the Native characters as inferior—for example, Nick’s father says that the Indian woman’s screams of pain are “not important.” While he is technically helping her—bringing his advanced medical knowledge with him—he simultaneously treats her as less than human. This mirrors the ways that Europeans brought medical and technological “advancement” to Native communities but also saw those communities as inferior and as people they could control.
Ultimately, the story ends with the white trio heading home despite the fact that a Native man has died and his wife does not have proper overnight care as she is healing from her surgery. This mirrors the ways that European colonizers did not take responsibility for the harm that they caused to Native communities.
