John Quinn

EDU265

9/29/2020

Process Paper 1

In the modern day United States of America, there is a plethora of issues surrounding

diversity and racial injustice. The focus for this paper could’ve gone in many directions.

However, for the purpose of this assignment, I wanted to research something that is gravely

forgotten when it comes to educating America’s youth, and something I can say firsthand has

been covered in misconceptions as long as I can remember. The historical treatment of Native

Americans in the United States, and the way that it is portrayed in education/culture today is an

abomination. There are endless examples of this, but the misconception of the first thanksgiving,

the result of Columbus discovering America and its impact on Native Americans, and the

disrespect to use the word “Indians” to describe Native Americans are the main focuses for this

purpose.

The first multicultural education issue involving the Native Americans is the

misconception of the first Thanksgiving that is still taught today. Many students just grow up

learning that Christopher Columbus discovered America and that America was soon after

colonized by the pilgrims in the early 1600s. This completely ignores all of the Native

Americans already established here, and even a few slaves that settled before the pilgrims in the

1500s. The mainstream understanding is that of white European settlers first colonizing as

opposed to the Native Americans or the African slaves. In one article I read, it discussed the lack

of awareness from college age students about this part of history. The author, Professor James
Loewen, acknowledged the issue being one of the system as opposed to the students saying, “My

students are not at fault. The myth is what their textbooks and their culture have offered them”

(Loewen). He then continues on to discuss the understanding that his students had of

Thanksgiving. The students understanding of the situation was the traditional tidbits. The

pilgrims arrived not expecting the harsh winter conditions, not knowing how to grow crops, and

eventually were helped by the “friendly Indians.” They had no knowledge whatsoever about the

diseases that was given to the Natives from the pilgrims. In 1492, there were 3,000,000+ Native

Americans living on the island of Haiti, and forty years later only a couple hundred remained.

This was because the diseases absolutely decimated the Native Americans while the European

immigrants mainly recovered. Although this article is outdated, (from the 1990s) it shows how

big of a problem this is, as many of these misconceptions are still swirling around today.

Although the European pilgrims of the 1600s were responsible for terrible disease

outbreaks that cut through the Natives, Christopher Columbus is not exactly free of blame either.

The Marvin Lunenfeld excerpt from the book The History Teacher titled “What Shall We Tell

The Children” focuses on the misconceptions of Christopher Columbus and what he actually did

to the Natives. The issue that he lays out is that American Catholics and their foundations have

long been fanatics of Christopher Columbus, and this issue continued on into the 20th and even

21st century. In one part of this chapter, Lunenfeld focuses on the views of Russel Shaw, former

director of Knights of Columbus and public affairs secretary for United States Catholic

Conference. He focuses on a particular quote from Shaw stating, “Columbus was a great man,

but he wasn’t perfect. Nowhere are his failings more obvious – with the advantage of hindsight

to be sure – than in his treatment of the Native peoples of the world” (Lunenfeld). This quote is

an absolute disgrace to the truth that Columbus came to this already inhabited land, killed, and
enslaved millions of Native Americans. By downplaying the atrocities committed by Columbus

and his men, this is dishonoring the Native Americans that suffered at his hands, and calling him

a “great man” is not doing anyone any favors.

The final issue that is not given enough attention is the use of offenses phrases describing

Native Americans such as “Indians.” The original context for this was obvious the

misunderstanding that they were intending to reach India but ended up in the Americas.

However, when looking at this in the scope of modern day perspective, this is incredibly

disrespectful. The people whos ancestors were the original Natives to America now have to be

referred to as Indians? This makes no sense whatsoever and only makes people that say it look

more foolish. There are also countless sports teams in America that use the name “Indians” but

instead of representing actual citizens from India, they display themselves under the image of

Native Americans. Again, this is incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the actual Native

Americans that are misrepresented by the word and image of Indians. Some types of change have

been seen in the recent years as the term Native is becoming more acceptable than Indian, and

many sports teams have given into the push back by changing their team name or the image logo

representation.

This continued disrespect towards Native Americans has been going for a while, and

despite the repercussions, there is no sign of it changing any time soon. This needs to change

drastically if we want Native Americans to feel respected and equal. Educating on the situation is

the first part to improving it. According to one article that focuses on Native American

educations, it described how American schools teach up to a certain point but then completely

fail to drive home the lasting impact of the situation. In regards to the trail of tears relocation, she

says, “For the Cherokee, the arrival in Indian Territory is “where the story usually stops, but it
did not stop for Native people once they got there” (Diamond). The repercussions of this

relocation and the continued discrimination the Native Americans feel after are still prominent

today. If our country naturally starts educating about the dark side of history, and condemns

those responsible, this is the first step towards making it right towards Native Americans.
Works Cited

Diamond, A. (2019, September 18). Inside a New Effort to Change What Schools Teach About

Native American History. Retrieved September 29, 2020, from

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/inside-new-effort-change-what-

schools-teach-about-native-american-history-180973166/

Findling, M. G., Casey, L. S., Fryberg, S. A., Hafner, S., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., Sayde, J.

M., & Miller, C. (2019, December). Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of

Native Americans. Health Services Research, 54(6), 1431+. https://link-gale-

com.ezproxy.loras.edu/apps/doc/A609143899/AONE?

u=lorascoll&sid=AONE&xid=4d434bd8

Loewen, J. W. (1992, November). The truth about the first Thanksgiving. Monthly

Review, 44(6), 12+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.loras.edu/apps/doc/A12841383/AONE?

u=lorascoll&sid=AONE&xid=28ab38aa

Lunenfeld, M. (1992). What Shall We Tell the Children? The Press Encounters Columbus. The

History Teacher, 25(2), 137-144. doi:10.2307/494270