Finally a Great Book!

Finally found something I can use for my class.  I must have skimmed about 20 or so books in preparation for my course at city and none come close to doing justice to U.S. History prior to European arrival than this book.

It will be a great addition for my class that starts on Monday, U.S. History From a Chicano Perspective.

I may create another blog with my students writings on their responses to the readings in the class.

FYI I will also be teaching Chicano Culture at 5:20pm at City College if anyone is interested.  I believe both classes are full, but the night course will be easier to get into.

Here is a short quote from the book that I just read, to give you a glimpse of the direction the author takes

“The Eurocentric racial contempt for the indigenous peoples of North and South America, as well as Africa, … is now so complete and second nature to most Americans that it has passed into popular lore and common knowledge…  All that is required, once the model is established, is the recitation of rote learning as it passes from one uncritical generation to the next” (Stannard, 13)

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

To know the history of U.S. policy toward native people is to know U.S. History.  This is something that was never talked about in school. Especially from this perspective.  Dee Brown gives an excellent overview of many of the encounters that took place between native people and the U.S. government during the 1800’s.  He used many first hand sources including the U.S. Congressional record to provide background for his retelling of U.S. History.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing the plight of Native people in the U.S.

It really shows how native people faced extreme violence and persecution when dealing with U.S. policy toward their people.  Many times they had no option other than forced removal or death.  Most nations did resist in some ways and put up valiant fights against armies that had much superior weapons and resources.  Those that defeated the U.S. Army would eventually have to face them again and fight, but while fleeing for their lives.

Many of the California tribes had no hope in defeating the oncoming invasion, with the exception of the Modoc tribes.  Some of the other more successful tribes that were able to win some concessions from the U.S. government were the Lakota and Apache tribes, but many tribes fought fiercely to defend their original homeland.

Again, in the end many had to move to a reservation, usually in some other location outside their traditional territory or just far away enough to allow White settlers to come in and take what land and/or resources they wanted.

The reservation life was really one of the only other ways of survival.  Some did choose to die fighting or live in the most isolated places they could find, but in the end the U.S. Army would find them and force them to relocate.

So pick up a copy of this book online or in a used book store (1st printing apx 1970) and learn about our how the U.S. was responsible for removing native people from their land in order to make way for U.S. expansion.  We were responsible for the partial ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of Native People.

This book was also made into a film recently and the name refers to Crazy Horse’s desire to be buried in his ancestral home land in South Dakota.

1st Book Review: Blood & Thunder by H. Sides

BLOOD AND THUNDER – My first review. This book was given to me by a man who spent many years in prison and was part of the early revolutionary movement within the prison system in California. I highly respect this man and thank him for his continued commitment to the struggle in San Francisco where he lives today. This 400 page book focus is mainly centered around a few characters, notably Christopher “Kit” Carson. Which ironically is the name of an elementary school I attended. If more people only knew the history of this murderer of Indian and Mexican lives in the late 1800’s they might have thought twice about naming a school after him.

Title taken from the term given to the type of literature from the 1800s

The large part of this book is dedicated to Kit Carson’s involvement in the movement and settlement of today’s U.S. Southwest. The last few chapters were the most informative to me. The focus steers towards the U.S. Government’s mission to eliminate the Navajo. It was saddening to read about the devastation that the U.S. military led by Kit Carson had on the Navajo people. The government and it’s military was almost successful in completely destroying these proud people. If it were not for a change in circumstances the Navajo Nation would have perished in the forced relocation to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Fortunately an elder was able to convince a U.S. General to allow the Navajo to return to their traditional land. Narrative History Narrative History Overall this book leaves me with the impression that the author was attempting to mislead the reader into thinking that the destruction of the southwest was not the fault of any concentrated effort by the U.S. government and individual White Settlers, but more the result of an inevitable outcome. This can be no further from the truth….!!!!! The U.S. government knew exactly what it was doing every step of the way. It is documented in many of the same sources the author used in his research. First, the U.S. intended to take over the territory that Mexico owned to expand it’s empire from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean. They used a religious concept to convince the masses that they were justified in their stealing of land and killing of Indians and Mexicans. (Manifest Destiny) Two, with it’s expansion of territory from it’s victory over Mexico, it then intensified it’s campaign against Indian people of the West. Killing those that refused to submit to their new rulers and remove themselves from the path of White Settler expansion. Don’t be fooled by the Hype. Kit Carson and all of the other military and volunteer militia are responsible for their campaigns against native people who suffered great losses. No matter how objective this author attempts to be, the Navajos and many other tribes would share a much different description of the events of this time. I recommend talking to descendants of the people that faced Kit Carson and the U.S. military when they were expanding westward to know for yourself. Overall, if you do read this book, skip the first 90% and read the last few chapters beginning with Kit Carson’s campaign against the Navajos. This is the closest the author gets to the truth. Kit Carson under the orders of General Carleton was responsible for the burning and killing of corn fields and animals which forced the Navajos into starvation. Once they were on the verge of dying they surrended and were forced to walk almost 500 miles to an area outside of their territory. This is known as the Long Walk. At this new location many died from diseases and malnutrition. A third of their population died here and on the journey. Finally it was decided by the U.S. that they should be relocated or they would completely be destroyed. It was then they were allowed to return and the current reservation is where they live today.