All my life, from when I was a little Republican shitstain to now, I always had a soft spot for the Native Americans. No rationale or so-called “nuance” ever made what the settlers did okay. In school we didn’t learn much about the Native Americans. We learned a tiny bit about their infrastructure and where they would typically live, but nothing that humanized them, we didn’t learn about culture or traditions or their own history. We learned that “Colombus sailed the Ocean Blue a long time ago in 1492 and came to America to give new inventions and spread religion to these far-off undiscovered lands”. Then you find out in HS or on your own time that 95% of that sentence is completely false, especially the coming to America part, he never went to any part of the Lower 48. You also learn about the Pilgrims in school. We learned that “some stuffy Christians who were even stuffier than the ones in England came over here to practice their religion in peace. They were a bit in over their heads and needed the Native Americans to help. They thanked each other and ate pumpkin pie with Turkey and stuffing and agreed that they were all friends” and then you learn what actually happens and it’s fucking terrifying. I had a nightmare as a little kid that drunken pilgrims were breaking in and trying to steal my family’s house. it really shook me for like a week or 2. Seeing as how like everything we were taught was utterly bullshit, what else is interesting to learn about the Native Americans? I ask because I found a “fun fact” (not very fun once you realize what the US did to these people) that the area I live in used to have Native Americans living here for 12,000 yrs STRAIGHT! Disgusting to think that that legacy is over because of racism and greed. Any short reads or good videos you would recommend?
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this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy
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Native Americans in what would become the US had stone-age tribal societies and oral traditions. It's difficult to establish a consistent history for groups like that. To make things worse, by the time anyone wanted to make a serious unbiased attempt to document their culture, their culture had been changed long enough that no one alive remembered what pre-contact life was like.
You might have better luck with Central and South American natives. The Aztecs and Mayans had written records, and the Incans left behind cities full of artifacts. Or check out the Inuit - they're largely isolated so they had less of a change forced on them than the tribes living in more desirable areas.
Or, depending where you are, you could always just seek out the local tribes and visit. Most of them have museums and books written by tribal historians and welcome people with a serious interest.