I do not agree with the inaccuracy and confusion that comes with the term “American Indian.” Those deciding on the name of the museum decided that “native” implies primitive, which is why it wasn’t named the Museum of the Native American. However, calling them Indian is simply inaccurate. An Indian is someone that “originates,” for lack of a better word, from India. As an Indian myself, I have had people ask me if my father wears feathers and dances around fires. Putting aside the absolute political incorrectness of this question, it demonstrates the fallacies that the term “American Indian” presents. “Native” does not have to mean primitive. For me, it simply means that they are the original descendants of the land, implying respect as opposed than anything else.
The other main issue I had with the museum was how it avoided the word “genocide.” There is no doubt that it was one, therefore why refer to it as “a wave of death” instead? The use of passive verbs demonstrates how the United States still hasn’t taken responsibility for the mass, systematic extermination of a people. In my opinion, the Museum of the American Indian was more of an insult than a tribute.
The museum should have been a commemoration to the Native American culture in light of the genocide that the United States perpetuated. It should not have clumped all Native American culture into one. And it should have dedicated some part of the museum to the genocide itself. Hopefully one day the United States will be able to come to terms with our bloody history.
Anna, I completely agree with your reflection. I also had issues with the fact that genocide was never brought up in the museum, because the genocide was not only the mass killing of the Native Americans (which, as you noted, was merely referred to as a "wave of death" by the museum). It was also a systematic destruction of their culture. Native American children were forced by the government to assimilate into American culture, essentially destroying it.
ReplyDeleteYou also noted that the culture of different Native American groups tends to be clumped into one composite idea. I think this was also true at the museum, because while they did have certain exhibits that differentiated between the tribes, it is ultimately impossible to have an entire museum about the "culture" of all Native Americans without somehow lumping them together.