Native Circle
Issues
Pet Peeeeeeeeves!
History Books & Museums
BEWARE OF U.S. HISTORY BOOKS
Lies, half-truths, distortions
and propaganda.... That's what makes up a
great majority of the content
on American Indians in ALL the U.S. History
books I 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 of a peace loving people
- looks more like a planned family vacation
than the torturous 2,000 mile
forced walk that it was. Over 4,000 Cherokee
Indian children, women, and
men died on that horrible trail, and why? All
because Andrew Jackson, the
liar, thief and bigot who gets to have his
criminal face honored on the
20 dollar bill, decided that even though the
U.S. Supreme Court decided for
the Cherokee Nation and said they had a
legal right to their homeland,
that he would snub the law. Thus came the
'Indian Removal Act' (Can you
imagine a 'White Removal Act'?!), which
was an illegal political maneuver
that succeeded in kicking Indians out.
This is the real Cherokee
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
book. 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. I am a strong
advocate for the importance of teaching history
to our young people. It
is my passion for history that fuels the fire of
my 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 book of America's classrooms
fails miserably. I strongly
encourage U.S. History teachers
to diligently seek American Indian
sources for your classrooms
in your thoughtful efforts to teach true
American Indian history.
It is painfully obvious that the Indian
history in most, if not all,
U.S. History books is gathered and written
by non-Indian sources, as there
is a clearly evident lack of knowledge
of true Indian culture, traditions
and history. Not to mention that the
chapters on Indian history are
thoroughly marinated in American
political propaganda. America
needs new U.S. History books!!!!
Written by John Two-Hawks
Even Museums can get it wrong
Museums are wonderful
places of learning. I 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, I still have some peeves with
some museums....
One peeve is obvious - when information at
a museum perpetuates
lies, misconceptions or propaganda
about American
Indian people. Even well meaning curators
and museums can
display and present misinformation about the
ancient culture
of Indigenous people if they are not thoroughly
schooled in true
American Indian teachings. Another peeve I
have with some
museums is the proud display of any item from
an Indian person's
grave. I have seen everything from sacred
burial items to
photos of unearthed human skeletons on display
at museums.
There is no other way to say it, this is just wrong.
And lastly, when
an American Indian item in a museum 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 belonged
to his grandfather, Lame Deer, was on display
at a museum in
Washington D.C., and that his family wanted it
back. That
gun is still on display at this museum today. As I
said, museums are
wonderful places to go and learn. But even
museums are not
immune from mistakes when it comes to the
true culture,
tradition and history of American Indian people.
It is my hope that
museum curators and historians continue to
strive to increase
their knowledge of true Indigenous culture,
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.......
Written by John Two-Hawks
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