learntoquestion ltq discussions

Readings (select AT LEAST 2 of these 4, which pains me because all are eye-opening):

• Claudio Vaunt, “The invasion of America,” Aeon, January 2015.
• Erin Blackmore, “The Little-Known History of the Forced Sterilization of Native American Women,” JStor Daily, August 25, 2016.
• Tristan Ahtone, “Native Americans are recasting views of indigenous life,” National Geographic, December 2018.
• Susan Montoya Bryan, “Deb Haaland seeks to rid US of derogatory place names,” Indian Country Today, November 19, 2021.

-------------------------

Many people believe that indigenous folks have been erased from the story we tell about the history of the United States. America was discovered….by Columbus. Let’s be generous: let’s call it an “encounter.” Its first settlers? The British and the Dutch, let alone the Spanish and French. Before 1492, this land was wilderness, waiting to be “discovered.” Were there people here? Were they people or savages? How did we depict them, describe them, study them, remember them?

If you believe in ghosts, then Native American ghosts are all around us. And yet their descendants survived. They are here but how often do we hear their voices? Are we paying attention to them? We have much to learn from the Native peoples of this country, if we are willing to take the time to do so.

As you know, it is argued by many that what happened to indigenous folks in this country was genocide. The definition of genocide is the deliberate killing of a group of people because of who they are, what their identities are, often with the goal of eliminating them entirely. Yet on Beacon Hill, where a bill (S.327) mandating the teaching of genocide was being discussed by the Massachusetts Legislature in October 2019 (for a text of the bill, see https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/SD1441, and for coverage of the motives and the legislator behind it, see https://mirrorspectator.com/2019/10/03/bill-seeks-to-mandate-teaching-of-genocide-holocaust-in-ma-middle-high-schools/) , take a guess: which group was conspicuously not mentioned?

And believe it or not: this bill is still unresolved and has morphed into several new versions over the past few years. And references to specific genocides were ultimately omitted from the most recent draft: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2557.

Consider what we’ve looked at in class and the content of the readings listed above as you respond to the following questions.

1. What do non-Native folks need to do, moving forward, to better understand the experience of indigenous peoples in this nation? How do we fully confront that history?
2. How do non-Native folks address the stereotypes, misperceptions, the “twistory” that has been passed down among non-Native Americans about this population?
3. How do we address the fact that indigenous people were murdered for who they are—the very definition of “genocide”? What apologies and amends do non-Native folks need to make, if any?
4. How can non-Native folks become allies so that indigenous peoples become fully integrated members of society? What concrete actions can we take to move forward and build a nation with indigenous peoples?

Be very specific in your response, SPECIFICALLY citing examples BOTH from class and from the readings.

1 & 2. I decided to group questions 1 and 2 together because Ifeel they can be answered with a similar answer: education and including Indigenous people in the conversation.In order to better understand the experience of Native Americans in this nation, and to begin to address stereotypes, we first need to re-educate ourselves. Most things we have learned about Indigenous peoples, their culture, and their story is wrong or written to make colonists look as if they were in the right. Thus, in order to make any progress whatsoever, we first need to educate ourselves on the true history of Indigenous people and the harm done to them by colonists. It’s been made very clear by our discussions in class that the American history curriculum looks to erase the experiences of Indigenous people. For example, throughout “Dawnland”, the boarding schools are discussed, which we talk about for a brief time in some history classes, but also goes into great detail about the child welfare system and its grave injustices to indigenous people by taking children and placing them with white families for the duration of their childhood. I cannot remember a single time in which this was brought up in any history class, and so the level to which the government violated the rights and experiences of Indigenous people was shocking to me. Thus, in order to fully confront that history, we need to begin teaching it at a young age. This will begin the process of undoing some of the erasure of Indigenous people, but will also help us to better understand the experiences of Indigenous people and work to address stereotypes. In order to address them, it’s important to understand where they came from, as then we understand the root of the issue. With education, we will be better able to understand how persistent these stereotypes are and then begin to get rid of things such as mascots that perpetuate these stereotypes.

A great way to address these stereotypes and begin to understand the experiences of Indigenous people is to include them in the conversation- this is perhaps the most important action for us to take. By including them in the conversation,much like the US Senate did by appointing Oregon citizen and tribal resident Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III as head of the National Park Service. By doing this, the government is giving Indigenous people more of a say over their own lands, but also working to further stop the erasure that has happened for hundreds of years. By both educating ourselves and giving Indigenous people more of a say over their own land, we are able to then work to better understand the experience of Indigenous people, which will help us to address the stereotypes and misperceptions.

3. This nation most certainly needs to make an apology to Indigenous people- although it can be argued that there will never be an apology good enough. A true apology is one which is accompanied by action, and so the United States could start with a nationwide acknowledgment of these events, the incorporation of them into the national history curriculum, and the returning of land to Indigenous people. I had no idea of the proclamation which was signed in the Old State House that declared Indigenous people illegal and offered monetary rewards for their capture and/or killing, and that happened right here in Boston. It would take a very long time to acknowledge every wrong done to this community, but the first step is to help make everyone aware that it even happened. The history of Indigenous people should be incorporated into the curriculum not only because it is an important part of this history of this land, but also because it will help us to address harmful stereotypes and understand the experiences of this community more. We must address these human rights abuses, and writing the true history of this nation is an important part of that. One of the most important amends to make is the returning of land to Indigenous people. We have taken nearly all of their land from them and forced Indigenous communities into small reservations where we, historically, have controlled them. By returning their land, we are acknowledging that it is indeed theirs and working to put an end to their erasure.

4. Non-indigenous people can educate themselves- as I’ve mentioned above, but also work to include Indigenous people in all conversations about the land of this nation. It is their land, and so they should have say in what happens to it and on it. A good way to do this would be to appoint them to police positions, similarly to what the article Ded Haaland seeks to rid US of derogatory place names discusses. By appointing Mr. Sams as the head of the National Park Service, Indigenous people will have a louder voice when it comes to their lands, which is incredibly important. Non-indigenous people can also work to remove derogatory names for Indigenous people from culture- such as changing school mascots or renaming military vehicles, in order to work to abolish the stereotype of Indigenous people as well as stop contributing to their erasure. This also includes working to grant them full rights, and change systems so it isn’t as difficult for them to prove that they are Indigenous. As we saw in many videos in class, it’s often extremely difficult to prove nativeness, and there are blood quantum laws which exist for Indigenous people and so by changing these systems - or getting rid of them entirely( such as the blood quantum laws)- we would be helping Indigenous people become fully integrated members of society. By working with elected officials and taking a stand with and for Indigenous folks, those who are not part of that community can help to make a difference and show their allyship.

Originally posted by gato927 on December 02, 2021 08:35

1. In order to gain some understanding of what native people have encountered, I think America, as a whole, needs to stop and listen to them. They have a voice too, and as many people know, colonizers did not “discover” America because it was already here and inhabited. One thing that we talked about in class was what label America should give native people, and I think that is a good place to start because everyone should be educated about the simplest things, just out of respect. I do not know if there is a way to fully understand the history, but I think that history books for children need to be written differently, and the history of colonization needs to be taught differently because it wasn’t all friendship and happiness. In order to confront this history, we need to properly educate ourselves and get rid of the stereotypes and stories we once knew.
2. In my opinion, their stories need to be told and the education of young children has to change. It was not until recently that I discovered the horrors brought upon by colonization, especially in this class. Reading the article “Recasting Views of Indigenous Life” it was interesting to read about how these negative stereotypes have affected native people, especially how in historical TV and books they have been cast through a negative lens, and still are. When someone uses terms like “Indian giver” or “Indian burn” you need to stop them and tell them how offensive saying that is, and the effects it has on native people.
3. I think it is pretty obvious that what the American government has done to native peoples is genocide, and dancing around the subject does not address it. In the “Little-Known History of the Forced Sterilization of Native Women” I was not aware of the horrors those women had faced, and how it has been ignored by society. There are also still affects of this genocide know because the IHS believed that native people were “morally, mentally, and socially defective”. I don’t even think that there is a way we as society can apologize for the hundreds of years native people have suffered, but it is an incentive to educate ourselves and get rid of these stereotypes.
4. In order to become allies it is important to immerse ourselves in true native culture, not just believing that all tribes are the same, and going along with everything we’ve read in our history books. “Recasting Views of Indigenous Life” talks about a restaurant in Seattle made up of indigenous cooks, activists, herbalists, and knowledge keepers. I think there should be more institutions like this around Boston and around the country because it would help us to educate ourselves in parts of native culture. To build a better nation with native peoples they should know that we recognize them and accept them.

I really liked your response, and agree with you. We need to stop, listen, and learn from Indigenous communities. I definitely agree that children's books need to be rewritten. It was shocking hearing all the misinformation and racist stereotypes we were learning in school at such a young age, and how normalized that was for all of us at such young ages. I also agree there is no way we can properly apologize to Indigenous communities for the years of suffering inflicted on them by the US Government and white settlers, and all we can try to do as Indigenous allies is educate ourselves on the true history of the United States and support and learn from Indigenous owned institutions like the one from "Recasting Views of Indigenous Life."

1) In recent years, many Americans have accepted the idea that we need to re-learn our nation’s history, that the textbooks we were shown in school didn’t always have the most accurate information, and that what we were told by teachers was not always true. To better understand the experience of Native Americans in this land, we need to go straight to the source to get that information. We have learned that what the state teaches us is filled with fibs, so going to the actual victims of our history would provide real insight on the horrid scenarios. Now, this is definitely not the best scenario, because it shouldn’t be the responsibility of Indigenous people to keep Americans educated, it shouldn’t be something that rests on their shoulders, but if some people were to learn this information, they need to spread it, it shouldn’t be kept hidden or a secret. The video watched in class today (12/2) is an example of helping to spread knowledge on what was kept under the rug. I never knew the severity of numbers of children stripped from their homes to be put in foster systems, but after watching the film, it really hit me, and is now a fact I will not forget. In order to fully confront the real history of this nation, we need to realize that what we know now is fake history.

2) In America, the way that minority groups are perceived or stereotyped most of the time is that they are either very well off, or the complete opposite. For example, Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders in America are seen as the ‘Model Minority’, whereas Black Americans are seen as people living in constant poverty, and people who commit crimes. Now, if you were to bring up these two stereotypes to people, they would typically debunk them immediately. But this is not true for Indigenous people. My whole life, I have been told that Indigenous people in the US solely live on Reservations, and deal with constant drug addictions, poverty, and terrible living conditions. This is something that I have always heard, but something that I now know is not true. In order for everyone to realize that these stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding Indigenous people are not true, the same logic about debunking stereotypes needs to be applied. Just because it is less talked about in the public setting, it doesn’t mean that the rumors are true.

3) In Tristan Ahtone’s article, “Native Americans are recasting views of Indigenouse life” a person named Kim TallBear states, “‘But if you look at the UN definition of genocide, every single federal policy toward native people can come under that.’” This isn’t an opinionated statement, it's a pure fact. In the film Dawnland, an advertisement was shown from the 20th century of a white man advertising boarding schools for Indigenous children. I can’t remember the exact quote, but the man said something along the lines of: oh look at these children to my left, they live with their true families and, as a result, are ‘barbaric’, but these children on my right have been attending these boarding schools by force, and are now civilized. That advertisement made it loud and clear that people genuinely believed (and still believe) that Indigenous people were wrong, and were criminals, for simply just existing and celebrating their culture. We need to be able to accept this fact in order to address how Native people were murdered for being Native. Apologies and amends are definitely a little bit harder for me to think of, there is not one thing that can just make people feel better about the horrid acts committed against their ancestors. However, but as a Jewish person, I know that people adressing the attrocities of the Holocaust make me feel better, because I can see that they are not trying to erase it from history. The first thing we need to do to apologize and make amends to these Indigenous communities is to stop ignoring the past, but instead, talk about it loud and clear.

4) This question made me think of the film we watched in class again. Near the end of the screening we got through today, there was a clip of a celebration between the Wabanaki tribe and Maine commissioners. One of the Wabakani people mentioned how he was so happy to see that moment, because it felt the government was finally trying to make an effort, they were becoming ‘neighbors, not just people sharing land’. I think this is something that the US needs to try and replicate on a larger scale, while still taking into account the contrasts between separate native tribes. I believe that this could eventually become considered a concrete action if it isn’t a one and done situation. People can’t appreciate Native tribes and culture once, just to forget about it the next day. If we want a community to be built, we as a whole country need to work to maintain that community, and keep it intact.

Originally posted by turtle17 on December 02, 2021 20:00

1) In recent years, many Americans have accepted the idea that we need to re-learn our nation’s history, that the textbooks we were shown in school didn’t always have the most accurate information, and that what we were told by teachers was not always true. To better understand the experience of Native Americans in this land, we need to go straight to the source to get that information. We have learned that what the state teaches us is filled with fibs, so going to the actual victims of our history would provide real insight on the horrid scenarios. Now, this is definitely not the best scenario, because it shouldn’t be the responsibility of Indigenous people to keep Americans educated, it shouldn’t be something that rests on their shoulders, but if some people were to learn this information, they need to spread it, it shouldn’t be kept hidden or a secret. The video watched in class today (12/2) is an example of helping to spread knowledge on what was kept under the rug. I never knew the severity of numbers of children stripped from their homes to be put in foster systems, but after watching the film, it really hit me, and is now a fact I will not forget. In order to fully confront the real history of this nation, we need to realize that what we know now is fake history.

2) In America, the way that minority groups are perceived or stereotyped most of the time is that they are either very well off, or the complete opposite. For example, Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders in America are seen as the ‘Model Minority’, whereas Black Americans are seen as people living in constant poverty, and people who commit crimes. Now, if you were to bring up these two stereotypes to people, they would typically debunk them immediately. But this is not true for Indigenous people. My whole life, I have been told that Indigenous people in the US solely live on Reservations, and deal with constant drug addictions, poverty, and terrible living conditions. This is something that I have always heard, but something that I now know is not true. In order for everyone to realize that these stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding Indigenous people are not true, the same logic about debunking stereotypes needs to be applied. Just because it is less talked about in the public setting, it doesn’t mean that the rumors are true.

3) In Tristan Ahtone’s article, “Native Americans are recasting views of Indigenouse life” a person named Kim TallBear states, “‘But if you look at the UN definition of genocide, every single federal policy toward native people can come under that.’” This isn’t an opinionated statement, it's a pure fact. In the film Dawnland, an advertisement was shown from the 20th century of a white man advertising boarding schools for Indigenous children. I can’t remember the exact quote, but the man said something along the lines of: oh look at these children to my left, they live with their true families and, as a result, are ‘barbaric’, but these children on my right have been attending these boarding schools by force, and are now civilized. That advertisement made it loud and clear that people genuinely believed (and still believe) that Indigenous people were wrong, and were criminals, for simply just existing and celebrating their culture. We need to be able to accept this fact in order to address how Native people were murdered for being Native. Apologies and amends are definitely a little bit harder for me to think of, there is not one thing that can just make people feel better about the horrid acts committed against their ancestors. However, but as a Jewish person, I know that people adressing the attrocities of the Holocaust make me feel better, because I can see that they are not trying to erase it from history. The first thing we need to do to apologize and make amends to these Indigenous communities is to stop ignoring the past, but instead, talk about it loud and clear.

4) This question made me think of the film we watched in class again. Near the end of the screening we got through today, there was a clip of a celebration between the Wabanaki tribe and Maine commissioners. One of the Wabakani people mentioned how he was so happy to see that moment, because it felt the government was finally trying to make an effort, they were becoming ‘neighbors, not just people sharing land’. I think this is something that the US needs to try and replicate on a larger scale, while still taking into account the contrasts between separate native tribes. I believe that this could eventually become considered a concrete action if it isn’t a one and done situation. People can’t appreciate Native tribes and culture once, just to forget about it the next day. If we want a community to be built, we as a whole country need to work to maintain that community, and keep it intact.

I like how you mentioned the celebration depicted in the film. I agree, how this respect, understanding, and embracing of culture should be represented by the US government on a larger scale. I believe the first step to this is doing what the commission strived to do, listen to the stories of native peoples.

1) The most straightforward thing to do is teach the accurate history of what happened when colonizers took over America. Curriculums cannot whitewash, sugarcoat, or simply leave out parts of history that are "too gruesome” or violent. The video of the indigenous parents telling their kids what happened to their ancestors was extremely jarring and saddening. Indigenous people shouldn't be the only ones teaching others about the oppression they faced (and still face). Everyone else has a responsibility to uphold the truth. In the article called "The Invasion of America” the author stated, "It is high time for non-Native Americans to come to terms with the fact that the US is built on someone else's land.” If everyone accepted the fact that colonizers had no real obligation to take land from indigenous people (not to mention slaughter and exploit them), then they would realize how unbelievably horrible the colonizers were. To understand the experience of indigenous people in the country, we need to acknowledge the oppression and trauma they have suffered and continue to suffer.

2) This question ties into the previous one - education is the most important tool. Non-Native people are ignorant about native culture and absorb all the stereotypes and tropes of indigenous people in the media. If we are aware of what actually happened when colonizers took over, it will be clearer to see that events depicted in things like movies and books are highly glorified and romanticized. We need to actively work to remove harmful slurs, caricatures, and depictions of indigenous people from books, movies, mascots, and everyday items. Deb Haaland shows us that action can be taken to remove these things.

3) I think we are in too deep for apologies to do any good so one of the best things we can do is stop invalidating indigenous peoples’ trauma and accept the fact that colonizers committed genocide. This becomes clearer when you look at the massive decline of indigenous people in America over the years. Kim TallBear, a professor of native studies said, “If you look at the UN definition of genocide, every single federal policy toward native people can come under that.” In addition to murder indigenous people were forced to adhere to white standards, removed from their families, and put through horrible processes like forced sterilization without their consent. Actions, like land reparations for example, are more powerful than apologies.

4) To start, non-indigenous folks should support indigenous artists and businesses, and listen to their voices. Supporting these people is an act of uplifting their culture in a positive way. The article “Recasting views of indigenous life” states that indigenous narratives are usually cast through a negative lens. People think they have an idea of what the cultures are like but that perception is often false or generalized. Letting indigenous people share their stories about their own culture would help strengthen their sense of identity. One woman in “Dawnland” said that the most significant result of the removal from her tribe was her loss of identity. Like so many others have emphasized, indigenous people have not been wiped out and everyone needs to understand that so we don’t continue to erase their culture and stories. Being an ally also means taking a step back, even if that means letting indigenous people live without interjection from other people.

1 & 2 I think that, in order to even grasp some of the experiences that Native Americans had living in this settler colonialist nation and combat stereotypes about Native Americans, the United States, as the oppressor people, needs to stop oppressing Indigenous nations and peoples and actually listen to their voices, since we have never fully done so before. On top of listening to Indigenous voices, I think that the Caucasian non-Native citizens living in the United States need to be educated on (1) antiracist language and dialogue; (2) Indigenous cultures and histories before European "invasion" and American settler colonialism; and (3) the continual oppression that Caucasian non-Native citizens of the United States promote and support by voting certain members into our public offices in our government. To go off my first point about antiracist language education, on November 19 Indian Country Today reported that Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland was taking steps to remove racist and derogatory language from federal government use. If we all took similar steps in removing such vernacular as the word "squaw" it would be so much easier for us to actually listen to Indigenous voices. I believe that, to fully comprehend that history of oppression that is still existent today, non-Native people along with the government who helped in oppressing these Indigenous tribes need to be thoroughly educated.

3. I think that we need to press legislators and other elected officials to hold our country accountable for its mistakes and oppression. Further, we need to be educated in school about this oppression and genocide. If we can't have that happen when we are in school, at least require it for the next years to come. At BLS, as Ms. Freeman mentioned at the beginning of the year, I believe that every student who attends the school should be obligated/mandated to take Facing History in order to hear about the horrors that the United States has committed to the Indigenous peoples of this land. I also believe that every school, especially Boston Latin School, should have Indigenous guest speakers come into their classes for a whole week before the Thanksgiving break to teach students about not only Indigenous culture but also about the ethnic cleansing (genocide) of Indigenous culture and peoples. If these guest speakers also have personal stories about their own experiences with the ethnic cleansing and the destruction of Indigenous cultures, I think that these speakers should share them with their classes. To amend the wounds that non-Native people have made, I think that we need to establish more Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. If the United States follows Germany's or Canada's examples (in Germany's case it was for the Jews mostly) for reconciliation and reparations (in the case of Germany) for every tribe or nation that we have oppressed we will partially amend for the wounds that we created. On top of that going back to the answer to the first question, I think having dialogues and listening to Native Americans will also help heal the wounds that were created.

4. Non-Native people can become allies with Indigenous people by listening to Indigenous peoples' stories and supporting these Indigenous people in their aspirations and other goals.

1. Moving forward, the absolute most important thing for us to do to confront that history is education. All people in this country need to know about the terrible things that the US has done to Native people. Deb Haaland, who is the U.S. Interior Secretary, is working to remove derogatory terms about Natives from government use. Haaland stated, "Our nation’s lands and waters should be places to celebrate the outdoors and our shared cultural heritage — not to perpetuate the legacies of oppression." (Deb Haaland seeks to rid US of derogatory place names). The US can never make up fully for what they did to Natives, but they can try way harder from here on out, which they have not been doing much of recently. For example, COVID hit Native communities very hard, and the government sent them body bags, instead of help. The US government and the people of the US need to be educated about these topics and what they can do to help.

2. Addressing the stereotypes will take time, but like I said before, the main thing to do here is educate. People can educate their children about these issues, and there should be a part of history class that focuses on this. People who have already learned these stereotypes can still go back and educate themselves on these issues, it is never too late.

3. I think that people should be open to recognizing the genocide of the Native people. I think people are so afraid of that word because it is so horrible, and a lot of white people don't want to admit that they wronged the Natives in that way. But they did, and now the country has to be open about it and making reparations. There should be a major apology to all Native peoples that this happened to them, and that even today they are still being oppressed heavily. The amends that need to be made are extensive, so much so that the relationship between Natives and the US government might be beyond repair. But the government can still try, recognizing that the land we are on is Native land, and helping struggling Native communities.

4. Non-Native people can educate themselves, and especially others. To be an ally means to educate others on the oppression of the marginalized group, and so to be an ally is to educate about the struggles of Native people. Some concrete actions we can take are apologies and raising money for struggling Native communities. Another thing we can do is attempt to incorporate Native history into our textbooks, and not just tell American history from the side of the colonists. We need to protest to completely put a stop tp things like Native women's forced sterilization, and to recognize that that was a very serious issue in the 1960's and 1970's. "Between 1970 and 1976 alone, between 25 and 50 percent of Native American women were sterilized," (The Little-Known History of the Forced Sterilization of Native American Women).