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Post by mmecurie68 on Nov 15, 2006 13:11:17 GMT -5
Well, my eight and a half year old daughter happened to bring home one of her textbooks entitled "Massachusetts, Our Home".
I decided that I would skim it and see what the ratio of Native American information was there vs. the colonial settlers - we live in a town that was part of the battlegrounds in King Philip's War.
They describe the Wampanoag and their customs up until the Pilgrims arrived and then began to lose their grip on their cultural identity when the Colonies began to form. Fast forward to modern times and how every July, they have a gathering called a "pow-wow". That's it. I wish I was making this up.
This textbook goes in depth with 3rd graders about the intricacies of Puritanism but can only devote 20 pages to the history AND the modern life of the Native American peoples of Massachusetts??? Nevermind the whole sanitization of the disease and decimation of population and skipping the first major WAR in Massachusetts that was fought in the immediate area.
No wonder there is so much activity here. I'm ticked off and I'm not even dead.
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Post by aneaglesangel on Nov 15, 2006 16:34:32 GMT -5
Ya know, that really is a shame! When I was a kid going to school, the only time we learned about Native Americans was when it was close to Thanksgiving! The white man came in and almost extinguished an entire race, I know it's not something I would be proud of. I do have a little bit of Native American blood, and I wish that I could find more about the history, and find exactly what tribe my ancestors belonged to. The hard part is it's a Canadian Indian, and I know that when America had considered them criminals, many Native Americans went to Canada to escape persecution and possible hangings. Whenever I look for information about our local tribes, I can't ever find very much. So, I guess I'd have to agree with ya on this one, and I'm not dead either, LOL!!
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Post by lildebcc on Nov 15, 2006 23:51:39 GMT -5
Well that is just another example of how American history in schools is not as important as history of other countries. I even find that at the college level. It is sad. I have written my letters and sent my emails over the years; do not know if it has helped or not, but I have tried to do my part to change it.
I would think that if you went to a tribal counsel of a particular tribe, you would be able to find out quite a bit of information. With the internet, finding contact people to local tribes makes it a lot easier.
>^o.o^<
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