This project was about analyzing sources from history and today about

Native Americans and their lifestyles. We looked at two chapters from Howard Zinn
about the cruelty of the Europeans and the near genocide of the Indians. Howard
Zinn is a biased source for the people, but he gave us information that many
textbooks tend to skim over. We also read two essays from Native American
students at Dartmouth College. These students told about their experiences as
Indians not only at school but also throughout their lives as well. The last source we
looked at was a book of short stories by Sherman Alexie. These stories were based
on his life, and were mainly about Native American traditions and the roles Indians
play in todays society.
When I was in elementary school, I remember dressing up as a Native
American for Halloween, making paper dolls dressed as Indians in school, and
learning about wigwams and teepees. We even went on a field trip to a Native
American exhibit at a museum. Because of this, I grew up thinking that the Native
Americans were a very happy people, and I never thought to wonder where they
went. Over the years I realized where they went. Reduced to living mainly on small
reservations with poor education systems and many problems such as alcoholism
and diabetes. Reading Zinns chapters was very impactful for me because though I
knew by this point we drove the Native Americans violently away, I never was fully
aware to what extent the damage was done. We are still apologizing to this day with
small checks make out to Indians, but is that really a sufficient enough apology?
At Animas High School, we have discussions called Socratic Seminars. In this
projects seminar, we discussed all of the readings mentioned in the first paragraph
through prompts and questions on the content. The purpose of the seminar is to
bring the entire project to a close, and so it happened at the very end of the project.
This is where we discuss the questions and ideas we have come up with over the
past two and a half weeks.
In the seminar I observed, there were many very important points brought
up. One of the most impactful ideas was the idea of paying rent on the land. The
Native Americans severely suffered at the hands of the U.S. government, and I dont
think we have fully come to terms with that. We pay them checks for apology, or for
repercussion, but is that really enough? One student Brittan mentioned that we will
never truly come to terms with the Indians and the things our ancestor did to them
until we are considered completely equal. The problem with this is, by putting them
in the impoverished position that they seem to be stuck in right now, people still
dont think of them as equals. This is turning into a circle where society seems to be
setting stereotypes on the Native Americans, and they end up perpetuating them.
This reminded me of one of the essays we read, where Marianne Chamberlain
comes to this realization when she happens upon the group of Native Americans on
campus drinking and singing in a drum circle, seemingly taking on the stereotypes
that society sees them as. One realization I came to in this conversation though, is
that I have no idea how I would help this situation. Is it up to the government to

reanalyze the agreements they made with the tribes? Or is it up to the tribes to
break out of this shell and take back their traditions and their life?
The analysis of several sources improves our knowledge of a subject because even if
the sources are biased, it gives us the opportunity to see how other people think
about these issues. When we see through their perspectives, we are able to pick
pieces out that overlap, because those are most likely the accurate pieces. If both
sides of an argument or discussion agree on one point or fact, it is safe to assume
that the fact is true. In this project, we analyzed all of these sources so we were able
to look at the overall historical even through Zinn, and personal stories from Native
Americans themselves. I am doing a similar thing for my honors project where I am
analyzing all of my sources to get to the bottom of the issue.