What a perfect time to reflect on Native Americans, their museum, and their holiday. Oh wait. It’s not their holiday. We were lied to.
My problem with the general idea towards the past treatment of Native Americans is less about the catastrophe that resulted in a complete exploitation of culture, and de-humanization of a people, but rather the lack of care that is given to the way in which we as a society remember their history, think of them today. If you don’t believe me, just look at the fact that we call them Indians. Of all the ethnic groups that people sometimes tend to geographically misplace, whether due to the mindset that it’s irrelevant, or innocent ignorance, there’s really no excuse for this one. It baffles me that this is even an issue because despite the fact that Columbus thought he was in India, I think it’s time to recognize the fact that the was in America. Therefore, saying Indian makes no sense. However, I think the word gets thrown around a lot because many people do not want to be offensive, but as someone who is a minority in both race and religion, it is not even remotely offensive to me when someone asks for clarification on something that might potentially create an awkward situation. I believe our paranoia towards being politically correct all the time has gone too far. While I understand the purpose and respect the intention, I think this obsession tries to hide our differences, while we should embrace them instead.
In my opinion, the term “Native American” is not offensive in the slightest. This confusion about what to say is purely due to this paranoia. Sure, native could imply primitive, but I think it’s safe to say it’s understood that in this case, it’s referring to the fact that they were the first “Americans.” Especially considering that was in issue for the museum that failed to recognize the hell that these people were forced to go through. Did they really agree that the word “native” would offend the Native Americans more than our failure to recognize their genocide?
While the museum actually addresses the differences between tribes relatively well, and shows the beauty and uniqueness of these cultures, it’s almost impossible to not get the “so where’s the exhibit on how we screwed them over” feeling. I couldn’t believe how they so casually glazed over what is arguably the most defining characteristic of their history. It’s not as if the museums avoid difficult historical events. The Newseum has boxes of tissues in the 9/11 exhibit, and the Holocaust has an entire museum dedicated to its memory. I can’t help but wonder if this is because we were the ones doing the killing in this case, instead of part of the heroes and victims. Although the museum feels like some kind of commemorative apology, it’s almost insulting that such as important detain is given such little importance, again proving that we as a society just don’t really care.
Finally this brings me to Thanksgiving. This is probably the biggest slap in the face to the Native Americans. We were taught that this holiday celebrates the relationship between the first settlers and natives. Is this a joke? If we actually wanted to make an attempt to prove that we care about these people, we should start with maybe not lying to generation after generation. While the intention of celebrating all we are thankful for, and actually not giving gifts for once is something we should certainly hold on to, it’s slightly disturbing that this week thousands of kids in hundreds of schools will be forced to dress up as one of the two and re-enact the opposite of what actually happened. My point is that a sugar-coated museum really doesn’t make the situation any better if we’re just going to continue being dishonest about the past.
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