We are nearly finished with the first unit of U.S. History – often called the Colonial Period. We went from a land bridge across the Bering Sea to the takeover of New Netherlands by the English. I’d like you to ponder what we learned about the first peoples (Native Americans) of this land. Were we fair in our study? (Do we need to be?) Were we accurate? What really is the most valuable thing to study from this time period? Is it better to understand who did the conquering or should we re-evaluate how we learn the colonial period to better understand the relationships among Indian nations and between Indians and Europeans?
I have included some quotes that I’d like you to consider as you explore this issue. Do you agree with any of them? Disagree? Who should we believe?
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” Bartolome De Las Casas
“Considering that virtually none of the standard fare surrounding Thanksgiving contains an ounce of authenticity, historical accuracy, or cross-cultural perception, why is it so apparently ingrained? Is it necessary to the American psyche to perpetually exploit and debase its victims in order to justify its history? Michael Dorris
“The invaders also anticipated, correctly, that other Europeans would question the morality of their enterprise. They therefore [prepared] quantities of propaganda to overpower their own countrymen’s scruples. The propaganda gradually took standard form as an ideology with conventional assumptions and semantics. We live with it still.” Francis Jennings
“There is not one Indian in the whole of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who has not come home in shame and tears.” Rupert Costo
“God has not been preparing the English speaking and Teutonic peoples for a thousand years for nothing….He has given us the spirit of progress to overwhelm the forces of reaction throughout the earth. He has made us adept in government that we may administer government among savage and senile people…..And of all our race He has marked the American people as His chosen nation to finally lead in the redemption of the world.” Senator Albert Beveridge, 1900
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You know this is pretty ridiculous that this is even an argument. Clearly, well it should be clear to most that this act oppressing the Indians was one of the most offensive acts of violence. People need to understand this was just on a different rubric of the Holocaust. In no way should people be allowed to treat them like that and act like it was necessary at all. It is most definitely better to understand the relationships among Indian nations and between Indians and Europeans because this is where it truly matters for the Native Americans. It's outrageous how this was allowed.
ReplyDeleteNot only were they treated horribly and not even given much credit or as much as they deserved, but also in the textbooks, just like Rupert Costo said is how they are still affected. They are looked at as horrible people and Conlin doesn't even describe their behavior or anything that had to do with their culture/actions. Overall, I just think they need more time and credit then they're getting, because as of right now they are described to me sometimes as fiends who did little to none good for humanity.
- Noor Fateh, '11
The Americans essentially tore Indian's civilization apart to the point where they are such a minority in america they live on their own reservations. Even a holiday we celebrate is false. There was no big happy meal with indians and pilgrims, squanto was smart and was friendly with them so they wouldnt kill the tribe
ReplyDeleteand then the white people essentially kicked them off the land started growing tobacco. It was very unfair to the Indians. American society has taken the limelight from the indians even though their history and civilization's roots run so much deeper than ours. The indians have been thrown under the rug by the whiteman, admittedly, but at this point in our country's history we really cannot change what our ancestors did. The best we can do is acknowledge and show some sort of remorse for the horrors we committed in the past as a nation. As Rupert Costo says, there is not an indian who does not feel frustration or anger when reminded of their horrifying past.
Regarding Michael Dorris’s quote: while I agree that the histories of Thanksgiving and the Native Americans are shadowed by views of biased people, without any opposing argument that is deemed “credible” enough to change textbooks, I disagree when he says that none of it contains “an ounce of authenticity”.
ReplyDeleteThe accepted history of Native Americans was not, in fact, written by Native Americans. It is based on the stories and recordings of the authoritative, and at one point racist, Europeans. If the Native Americans’ sides of the stories are not accepted into the history books then the US doesn’t really have a fair chance in learning the proper facts and nuances of its past.
Having said that, I think it equally biased and unfair for Dorris, a Native American, to discredit the entire “historical accuracy” of Thanksgiving. It is true that the accounts aren’t told from the people who directly experienced their homes being encroached upon by foreigners. But, to call all works of historians who have factual evidence to support most, if not some, of their claims, as complete lies, is just as narrow-minded. It is highly unlikely for this history of the Native Americans to be entirely false, just as it is highly unlikely for it to be entirely true.
The way in which we study the Native American past is probably just as fair or unfair as the way we study many other peoples’ pasts who had little to no input in the writing of it. It is blind to accept any textbook as complete truth, but it is biased, in the opposing sense, to dismiss it all as conspiracy.
--Chanah Haddad
I agree with Noor when he says that the way in which the Europeans treated the Native Americans was unquestionably intolerable. I do not agree, however, that it was a form of the Holocaust. The Holocaust was inflicted on a people based on hate spawned from ignorance. The purpose was to exterminate a nation. The Native Americans were mainly treated in such horrendous ways because the Europeans wanted something from them. It is true that prejudice against Native Americans was prominent after King Phillip’s War, but the conflicts between the Europeans and the original residents did not occur because one wished to wipe out the other.
ReplyDelete--Chanah Haddad
Of course there is a need to be fair in our study of the relationship between the English and Native Americans. Without doing so, the colonial period cannot be evaluated correctly. However, this is difficult to do given the fact that there aren't many accounts written by the Indians that depict the colonial period. The history that we learn today is mainly based off of English accounts that were more or less biased. Even our own history textbook gives assumptions that may not be correct about the Indians.
ReplyDeleteThe point of learning history is so that we don't repeat the mistakes made by the people in the past and avoiding future conflicts. What is important to learn about this period is so that we don't unfairly treat people of a different race. There are still problems today about Indian land. By avoiding the conflicts now, we can eliminate a lot of future problems.
I completely disagree with the last quote stated by Beveridge because that is propping up the English speaking people on a pedestal that should not exist based on the need to rule others. It is with these points of biased views that create problems that we still have todady with the Indians.
-Stefani Feldman
I agree with Channah when she states that we should not dismiss our textbook as a conspiracy. It is biased to a certain extent but there are still some truths to the book.
ReplyDeleteChanna I obviously said that it was a different rubric of the Holocaust. My point was, that it was mass cleansing of many Native American peoples despite there being no real reason to attack them. It was the main idea, the GENERAL idea of a mass killing of mainly innocent people that I'm talking about. They were treated horribly and that was my point of the situation with the Native Americans being related to the Holocaust, I wasn't comparing the reasons for why people were murdered; I was simply relating the fact that mainly innocent people were killed in masses. I hope you can see, Channah, that I am not giving reasons for the Holocaust and saying they are the same as those of the mass killings of Native Americans, I'm saying the outcome of bot were similar in that mass peoples were killed. I hope that clears things up!
ReplyDelete- Noor Fateh, '11
I don't believe that we were completely fair in our study of native americans. Although we did learn that Europeans came to America and colonized Native American land, we did not learn about how awful this fact is. Europeans had no right to take land away from Native Americans; it was not their land to take. I agree with Bartolome De Las Casas in that the actions of Europeans are completely unpardonable. Who are they to think that is was alright to treat other humans in such a horrible manor. Just because Native Americans were different than Europeans and less developed, doesn't give them the right to treat them badly and abuse them.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the textbook mainly focused on the colonizing done by the Europeans and not the relationships between them and the Indians. I believe that the relationships are just as important because they show both sides of the story. It is important to learn how the Indians we're affected by European colonization not just learn about European accomplishments.
Drew Tuttle
I think Channah makes a very valid point when she states that it is highly unlikely for this history of the Native Americans to be entirely false, just as it is highly unlikely for it to be entirely true. We should read the textbook cautiously because although it does have mostly correct information, it is an opinionated text.
ReplyDeleteDrew's comment brought my attention to how important having our own perspective of what we read is. Having information is a wonderful thing, but the way we process it and the ideas and themes we come up with are equally as important to the understanding of the reality of the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stefani when she says that it is important to learn about this period so that we don't make the same mistakes again. Although the Europeans made certain bad decisions such as their treatment of the indians, it is good that we now know never to treat people like this again.
ReplyDeleteDrew Tuttle
There is no question the the Europeans who came to America did not treat the Indians justly. Europeans not only explored the Native American land, but then continued to create settlements and towns in regions of prior Indian territory. As these new colonial settlement grew in size and population, Native Americans were pushed westward. Also, the south began to expand in landmass much quicker because of the large plantations being created to produce tobacco. The European settlers unrightfully took away the Native's home. I use the word 'native' because the Indians were the first settlers in North America. Not only did the Europeans take away their homes, but they also viewed the Native American's as a savage and primitive people. Most colonials did not respect the Indian culture or their way of life. Can this be considered fair? I defiantly agree with Casas' statement. If you look at the suppression the Indians had to endure because of he colonials presence, the Native American's really had no chance of protecting themselves.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to look back at a couple of major historical events (not in the modern era) these events are usually described by the victorious. The more powerful and stronger nation (in this case Europeans) have superiority over the weak (Native Americans). Obviously, the events of colonialism and conflict between Natives will always be described through the eyes of the European. Unfortunately, it is not easy to get around the fact that historical events will mostly be described by the dominating nation.
-Jason G
I completely agree with Drew's comment that the textbook focuses more on European views rather than relationships with the Indians. It would extremely beneficial to have a Native American's perspective on the events occurring in this time period. This would increase my understanding of the colonization period, and also it would help me, the reader, get a better 'feel' for the two opposing sides.
ReplyDelete-Jason G
I beleive, instead of trying to memorize the facts like what the names were or what the towns were called, we should concentrate on why things happened and what were the products of these actions.
ReplyDeleteAs people have said before, obviously the treatment of the Indians by the Europeans was one of the most horrific acts of violence in the country's short history. I also beleive that the text book is quite biased in the information they give about native americans. Conlin repeatedly talks about how the Indians are savage and how they used to kill people for seemingly no reason. Although the indian's culture was different it is unfair to call them savage and uneducated.
i also completely agree with stefani, in that we learn history through the eyes of the europeans. also on the fact that the english is put on a pedastal and are said to be superior than the indians for having conquered part of their territory. Just because the europeans had advanced weaponry and military tactics in no way should imply that they are a superior or more advanced race.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone has said about it being important to learn about the native americans as accurately as possible in order to insure that we do not make the same mistakes. However, I also agree with what Jason said about it being inevidable that we were learn about colonial time through the eyes of the europeans. Although that is what has happened for the most part up to now by learning this information in more and more detail we can try and prevent one sided stories from being passed down. For instance we rarely hear about the civilians in Iraq and Afganistan that have been negatively effected by the United States presence but we constantly hear about our soldiers being killed. Native Americans being treated how they were is absolutely horrible but the best thing we can do to attempt and make up for it is by accurately teaching what happened.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe we are not fair and accurate with the studies of the Indians, I don't think we necessarily have a choice. The Indians past was based off of oral history, whereas the Europeans depended a lot on documentation and recording history. The Indians did not have the tools and resources to sit down and record everything, and bias colonists wrote down their own facts on their views of the Indians. Although it is bias, it at least gives historians some piece of the past they can puzzle together, but unfortunately since the Indians don't have a good explanation of their past I'm afraid we will never know the truth.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Alexander the Great, we will never exactly know whether he was so great or not and conquered vast territories of land and brought together cultures. We as history students and future generations have to trust our primary sources, bias or not because without them there would be no history. The Indians lucked out because we don't know the real truth of who did the conquering and whether you can fully trust hundreds of years of oral history to recount the events in the colonial period. Therefore it is not significant to piece together who did the conquering because clearly all we have is the English. What we can do is look to all documents and evidence and attempt to make a theory about the relationships amount Indian nations and between Indians and Europeans.
Regarding Costo's quote, although it is terribly sad the Indians are upset, again we don't exactly know what the scenario was and we have to take what we go regardless of people's reactions nowadays.
I agree with Stefani's idea how the Europeans are bias, but unfortunately we will never know the real truth when we don't have the Indians side of the story.I also agree with Josh, we need to discuss these important matters rather than memorize town names.
ReplyDeleteObviously the treatment of Native Americans was cruel and inexcusable but at the same time I feel almost contradictory condemning the fore fathers of our country who without the ill treatment of the Native American people, without the use of slavery, it's impossible to say if the foundation of this country would have happened the way it did or if at all. I'm not saying it is any excuse at all, many people died inexcusable awful deaths and lived tortured lives but the eventual outcome was the birth of our nation. Rather than saying that it was a necessary feat, I’m saying that the sad truth, that our nation tries to disguise, (Thanksgiving being the perfect example) is that our nation was built on the broken backs of this countries Native people.
ReplyDeleteAs Francis Jennings said, the settlers, or invaders as he puts it, anticipated European criticism of their treatment towards the Native Americans and therefore spun out propaganda in order to protect the American name and it created a false history that we still live with, the perfect example being Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, the celebration of the Pilgrims and Native Americans joining together is a for the most part fabricated, sugarcoated tale to create a wholesome image of the settlers to overshadow the torture that was going on at the time.
The study of modern day native Americans is in my opinion two sided, on one side when people think the Indians, they associate it with Turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie and on the other, people view Indians as a savage group of humans and in Conlins mind, sadistic torture fiends. These are both unfair and unwarranted judgments but sadly beliefs that are woven into the fabric of our country.
I don’t believe that we study the Native Americans fairly. I really don’t think that we learned enough about the Indians before the English and Spanish came and invaded the land that was rightfully theirs. Our main source of teaching and examples that we learn are from our textbook, and in it the author portrays them as being wild and savage, fighting against each other and killing mostly everything in sight. This is a generalization and stereotype about the Indians which can change everyone’s viewpoint on the Native Americans and the stuff they did. I don’t think it is fair to portray them as unintelligent. Most people believe these things which isn’t fair because we were not alive during the time that the Native Americans roamed the eastern lands. I agree with Costco when he says that the Native Americans have been really overlooked which is unfortunate because they went through so much to attempt to gain independence. They were bullied by all populations and completely slaughtered for no good reasons. I think a good example of the Native American's not being treated fairly is the fact that most cities in the US (in the areas that were the 13 colonies) now have French, Spanish, or English names. Although the Indians were the first to roam around those areas hundreds of years ago, they were abolished by the colonies of the French and the English. It is interesting to think that although the Indians had so much influence in United States History, people always refer to the first men to inhabit the New World as the settlers from places such as Spain, England, and France.
ReplyDelete-Rae Wright
I agree with Josh and Stefani when they say that most people learn History through biased opinions from the Europeans. Just because they fought and killed many Indians, does not mean that morally they are the better race in past and present times. Jason makes a good point when he says that it would be cool to have different view points on the settlers and colonial times. This would make it much easier to distinguish the reasons leading up to when the colonial people coined the term "American."
ReplyDeleteIt is very clear that the acts against the Indians were very violent and offensive. The Americans tore apart the civilization of the Indian's. I think we shoudl have learned more about the Indians befreo the Spanish and English came and invaded them. Then again, I do believe that if it weren't for these cruel acts, or country may have never been created. I agree with Casas' statement, because the Native Americans didn't have a chance to protect themselves, becaise of the supression they had to undergo.
ReplyDelete-Max Heltzer '11
I agree with Jason, that throughout all history, events are told by the victorious. If all events are told by the victorious, then you know that not all of the facts can be true, but also they are not all completely false. I feel that if we were to know more about the relationship between the Indians and English, we would be able to gather more of the true facts from these events.
ReplyDelete-Max Heltzer '11