History Books & Museums
History Books & Propaganda
Falsehoods, half-truths, distortions and propaganda; That's what makes up a great majority of the content on American Indian people in all the U.S. History books we have had the misfortune of reading. These modern books continue to perpetuate the infamous 'Bering Strait Myth' as well as the 'Thanksgiving Myth'. Also, in the U.S. History book, the Trail of Tears - the brutal forced removal and ethnic cleansing inflicted on a peace loving people by President Andrew Jackson - is made to look more like a planned family vacation than the torturous 2,000 mile forced walk that it really was. Over 4,000 Cherokee Indian children, women, and men died on that horrible trek, not to mention the countless numbers from other Native nations who perished, and why? All because Andrew Jackson, whose likeness is honored on the 20 dollar bill, decided that even though the U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of the Cherokee Nation and said they had a legal right to their homeland, that he would snub the law in favor of ethnic cleansing. Thus came the 'Indian Removal Act' (Can you imagine a 'Caucasian Removal Act'?!), which was an illegal political maneuver that succeeded in forcibly removing Native people from their ancestral homelands. And it wasn't just the Cherokee who suffered this ethnic cleansing, it was many other nations, including the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Muscogee Creek, Potawatomi, Ponca, Sac & Fox and many others.
This is the real Trail of Tears, and it was no family picnic. So students and teachers, be very wary of what you read about American Indian people in your U.S. History books. The United States propaganda machine is alive and well, and it is time to stop buying into it. It is very important for people and nations to learn and remember their history. Native Circle is a strong advocate for the importance of teaching history to our young people! In fact, it is our passion for history that fuels the fire of our disdain for 'twisted' and politically tainted 'history'. History should always be about truth, regardless of how difficult it may be to look at. When it comes to the true history of American Indian people, the U.S. History books of America's classrooms fails miserably. We strongly encourage U.S. History teachers to diligently seek First Nations sources for your classrooms in your thoughtful efforts to teach true American Indian history. It is painfully obvious that the American Indian / Native American history in most U.S. History books is gathered and written by non-Indian sources, as there is a clearly evident lack of knowledge of true Native culture, traditions and history. Not to mention that the chapters on Native American history are thoroughly marinated in American political propaganda. America needs new U.S. History books!!!!
Even Museums can get it wrong
Museums are wonderful places of learning. We love them. There are beautiful reconstructed scenes of history, fabulous displays of ancient items, and loads of other great creative audio/visual learning experiences. Even so, some museums have items that need addressing. One issue is obvious - when information at a museum perpetuates falsehoods, misconceptions or propaganda about American Indian people (e.g. the 'Bering Strait' myth). Even well meaning curators and museums can display and present misinformation about the ancient culture of Indigenous people. When these issues are brought to the attention of the staff, the museum should seek reliable First Nations resources to address them. Another issue we have with some museums is the display of any item from an Indigenous person's grave. We have seen everything from sacred burial items to photos of unearthed human skeletons on display at museums. The graves of Native people should never be desecrated. And lastly, when an American Indian item in a museum legitimately belongs to a family who has asked for it, it should be promptly returned. For example, the late John Lame Deer once complained that a gun that legitimately belonged to his grandfather, Lame Deer, was on display at a museum in Washington D.C., and that his family wanted it back. The museum knew the gun had belonged to Lame Deer. That gun was never returned to the family. Again, museums are wonderful places to go and learn. And we really do love them. But even museums are not immune from mistakes when it comes to the true culture, tradition and history of American Indian people. It is our hope that museum curators and historians continue to strive to increase their knowledge of true Indigenous culture, that they will always rely first on qualified Native American sources, and that they will not be afraid to update inappropriate content in their museums. After all, this is what museums are about, the continuing search for truth, knowledge and wisdom.
Shadowboxes
How I feel about Native American museums...
Empty and sad
Kind of angry and numb
When I went to the Holocaust museum I couldn't make it through one third of the displays without breaking down in tears. I was emotional because the story was told, the truth was presented, no matter how painful.
American Indian museums always seem put together like a Disney 'Poca-haunt-us' movie. The walls are full of images of proud 'chiefs' and innovative artistic artifacts. Very noble, very dreamy, very deceptive.
Truth be told, much of what you see was stolen. Family heirlooms that belong to loved ones hanging on cold museum walls for the conqueror's great-grandchildren to see, and to romanticize their own 'Poca-haunt-us' dreams.
Truth is hidden in the well manicured shadowboxes. The stories of tears, loss and fear are covered up by sterile facts, dates and slightly tilted spin.
Where are the pictures and pieces of trains that carried away sons and daughters to so-called 'Indian Schools' full of death and empty promises?
Where are the facts telling of over 53,000,000 people vanished from their homes at gunpoint and threats?
Where are the faces of the despairing, the broken, the angry?
And where is the display of frozen bodies left in the shadow of 'Peace on Earth', and piled up women, children and old men, squeezed together in a mass grave of 'get over it'?
Where is the picture of broken treaties, tainted meat, and biological death blankets wrapped around trusting cold children?
I'm not fond of Indian Museums, places of shadows, places of thievery and propaganda and cover up. When I see the well preserved ghost shirt, I only see the murder of its owner, the American Holocaust, still a cover up, as the rip off continues. How about honor the Indian with a little truth? When your patrons can't make it through one third of your museum without breaking down in tears, then and only then will the true story be told and then maybe I will change my mind about Indian Museums. The story can then, at long last, come out of the shadowboxes.
- Peggy Hill
This is the real Trail of Tears, and it was no family picnic. So students and teachers, be very wary of what you read about American Indian people in your U.S. History books. The United States propaganda machine is alive and well, and it is time to stop buying into it. It is very important for people and nations to learn and remember their history. Native Circle is a strong advocate for the importance of teaching history to our young people! In fact, it is our passion for history that fuels the fire of our disdain for 'twisted' and politically tainted 'history'. History should always be about truth, regardless of how difficult it may be to look at. When it comes to the true history of American Indian people, the U.S. History books of America's classrooms fails miserably. We strongly encourage U.S. History teachers to diligently seek First Nations sources for your classrooms in your thoughtful efforts to teach true American Indian history. It is painfully obvious that the American Indian / Native American history in most U.S. History books is gathered and written by non-Indian sources, as there is a clearly evident lack of knowledge of true Native culture, traditions and history. Not to mention that the chapters on Native American history are thoroughly marinated in American political propaganda. America needs new U.S. History books!!!!
Even Museums can get it wrong
Museums are wonderful places of learning. We love them. There are beautiful reconstructed scenes of history, fabulous displays of ancient items, and loads of other great creative audio/visual learning experiences. Even so, some museums have items that need addressing. One issue is obvious - when information at a museum perpetuates falsehoods, misconceptions or propaganda about American Indian people (e.g. the 'Bering Strait' myth). Even well meaning curators and museums can display and present misinformation about the ancient culture of Indigenous people. When these issues are brought to the attention of the staff, the museum should seek reliable First Nations resources to address them. Another issue we have with some museums is the display of any item from an Indigenous person's grave. We have seen everything from sacred burial items to photos of unearthed human skeletons on display at museums. The graves of Native people should never be desecrated. And lastly, when an American Indian item in a museum legitimately belongs to a family who has asked for it, it should be promptly returned. For example, the late John Lame Deer once complained that a gun that legitimately belonged to his grandfather, Lame Deer, was on display at a museum in Washington D.C., and that his family wanted it back. The museum knew the gun had belonged to Lame Deer. That gun was never returned to the family. Again, museums are wonderful places to go and learn. And we really do love them. But even museums are not immune from mistakes when it comes to the true culture, tradition and history of American Indian people. It is our hope that museum curators and historians continue to strive to increase their knowledge of true Indigenous culture, that they will always rely first on qualified Native American sources, and that they will not be afraid to update inappropriate content in their museums. After all, this is what museums are about, the continuing search for truth, knowledge and wisdom.
Shadowboxes
How I feel about Native American museums...
Empty and sad
Kind of angry and numb
When I went to the Holocaust museum I couldn't make it through one third of the displays without breaking down in tears. I was emotional because the story was told, the truth was presented, no matter how painful.
American Indian museums always seem put together like a Disney 'Poca-haunt-us' movie. The walls are full of images of proud 'chiefs' and innovative artistic artifacts. Very noble, very dreamy, very deceptive.
Truth be told, much of what you see was stolen. Family heirlooms that belong to loved ones hanging on cold museum walls for the conqueror's great-grandchildren to see, and to romanticize their own 'Poca-haunt-us' dreams.
Truth is hidden in the well manicured shadowboxes. The stories of tears, loss and fear are covered up by sterile facts, dates and slightly tilted spin.
Where are the pictures and pieces of trains that carried away sons and daughters to so-called 'Indian Schools' full of death and empty promises?
Where are the facts telling of over 53,000,000 people vanished from their homes at gunpoint and threats?
Where are the faces of the despairing, the broken, the angry?
And where is the display of frozen bodies left in the shadow of 'Peace on Earth', and piled up women, children and old men, squeezed together in a mass grave of 'get over it'?
Where is the picture of broken treaties, tainted meat, and biological death blankets wrapped around trusting cold children?
I'm not fond of Indian Museums, places of shadows, places of thievery and propaganda and cover up. When I see the well preserved ghost shirt, I only see the murder of its owner, the American Holocaust, still a cover up, as the rip off continues. How about honor the Indian with a little truth? When your patrons can't make it through one third of your museum without breaking down in tears, then and only then will the true story be told and then maybe I will change my mind about Indian Museums. The story can then, at long last, come out of the shadowboxes.
- Peggy Hill