To deconstruct the idea of "Indianness," Vizenor uses strategies of irony and Barthesian jouissance. For instance, in the lead-up to Columbus Day in 1992, he published the novel, "The Heirs of Columbus", in which Columbus is portrayed as a Mayan Indian trying to return home to Central America. In "Hotline Healers", he claims that Richard Nixon, the American president who he said did more for American Indians than any other in restoring sovereign rights and supporting self-determination, did so as part of a deal in exchange for traditional "virtual reality" technology.