Running Head: AMERICAN PATRIOTISM IS HOLDING BACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 1

American Patriotism is Holding Back Indigenous People

Kiarra Spottsville

Arizona State University

AMERICAN PATRIOTISM IS HOLDING BACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 2

Abstract

The following essay will provide the necessary background and history on Native Americans to

argue why schools must adjust their curriculum. The essay will call on common misconceptions

and common abuses of Native American culture and will explain how it is tied to the

miseducation of public school attenders from elementary to secondary institutions. The essay

uses claims from educators and Native Americans themselves to support the argument.

Keywords: Native Americans, Indigenous, education, elementary schools, tolerance,

change, curriculum, cultural appropriation

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AMERICAN PATRIOTISM IS HOLDING BACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Indigenous people have a culture and a history deeper than the American story. It is often

unheard of and not many people will put the effort into learning it. There are people who wish to

learn it, but do not know how. And there are people who actively try to hide and diminish

Indigenous cultures, and will sugar coat history to support their own views. American patriotism

is intertwined with the assimilation and genocide of Native Americans. Gregory Smithers, a

professor of Native American history at Virginia Commonwealth University, wrote an article

about this. Smithers mentions in his article that “Native American history is rich and complex,

replete with traditions thousands of years in the making; it is also a history tainted by the

exploitative excesses of settler colonialism.” Indigenous history with colonizers is not the

friendly story you heard in elementary school. Some people understand that it is more brutal and

more horrendous than is taught, however a mass majority do not understand this. The problem

starts when we are young, at school we are taught that the pilgrims and the Indians were best

friends who helped one another. At home, we watch our cartoons like Pocahontas or Peter Pan,

where the Native Americans are savages who need European help. And this idea follows us into

adolescence and adulthood where we accept the Redskins, the Chiefs, the Indians as mascots.

We accept being surrounded by dying tribes, but being completely unaware of the issues. We

accept people coining the term ‘have a pow wow’ or white companies selling cultural items like

sage and teepees. We accept politicians that are supposed to be held to the highest standard,

saying blatantly racist things about Native Americans publicly. The problem is that as a society

we accept what is spoon fed to us so we do not question the ulterior motives, simply because it is

easier to look the other way and because it does not hurt anyone, right? No. To accept any of

this, is to accept that Indigenous people are not people. Because people are not mascots, they are
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not costumes, they are not a $60 purchase at Urban Outfitters. In order to fix the issue, we have

to go to the beginning when are minds are first molded into a mindset of tolerance and

acceptance. In America, elementary schools do not teach the full or the real story because it is

too gruesome for young kid’s minds or because the curriculum just does not allow for more

history, the real reason though, is America does not like to talk about it’s faults. I believe that

there must be a change in the education system in the United States in order to change the

declining path Indigenous people have been forced onto.

When you think back to your history classes, what do you remember learning about

Native Americans? I remember learning about Thanksgiving in third grade and about

Christopher Columbus and that’s it. In high school, I remember a brief chapter my junior year

that was only taught in the AP class, not in the regular classes. It is unfair for Native Americans

to not be represented in United States history when they underwent a genocide and are

continuing to diminsh as time goes on. Rebecca Clarren with TheNation.com interviewed Warm

Springs Tribal Councilwoman Carina Miller and Miller said “a white student once called her a

‘prairie nigger.’ As a student, [Miller] added, ‘I felt worthless—like I wasn’t worth the effort or

patience to understand who I am and my history. This school district has failed us my entire

lifetime, and it continues to do this today’” (2017). Dave Constantin at Tolerance.org wrote

“Aside from some obligatory lessons about Pilgrims and Indians at Thanksgiving and maybe a

retelling of Pocahontas and Sacagawea’s contributions to Anglo exploration of the New World,

generations of American school children grow up effectively ignorant of the tragic and

complicated story of this nation’s original inhabitants,” (2015). Not only that, but Native

Americans have been extremely helpful towards Americans despite all the evil that has been

done to them. For example, Navajo Code Talkers in World War II literally changed the course of
AMERICAN PATRIOTISM IS HOLDING BACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 5

the war and the Code Talkers are often credited as pushing America towards victory.

Whitewashed or Americanized versions of history are not factual and should be adjusted. A

change is rightfully being demanded in California schools to get the Native American story told.

History is an important tool to learn in order to prevent repetition, we have all heard that history

repeats itself. The curriculum in schools should be adjusted for a more honest recollection of

history and what the effects from the past have left on today. I believe that children should be

told the truth from a young age, because when you are first taught something that is the way you

remember it. It is hard for people to break their routine or go against their own memory. The

gruesome accounts do not have to be told to children, but they should not be lied to. Gregg

Castro, a consultant on Native American site preservation and member of the California Indian

History Curriculum Coalition, said in an interview with edsource.org that “Even the terminology

poses challenges. For example, using the word ‘genocide’ can be problematic, because thousands

of Native Americans still live in California and have thriving cultures. ‘Genocide’ implies that

the native culture was completely erased.” Then once students are old enough to comprehend the

brutality and the level of intensity the issue is, say junior high, start to discuss the real, hard

hitting facts of the boarding schools, the assimilation, both of the Long Walk events, the

scalpings, the forceful reservations and colonizations. Tell students all about the ugly moments,

so in high school they know how to think critically of the United States and to be more mindful

of Native Americans. Blind patriotism should not be America’s mindset, that’s a one way ticket

to facism.

It is important to learn about other cultures and diversify oneself in order to eliminate

stereotypes and discrimination based on those stereotypes. As mentioned previously, Native

American tribes face cultural appropriation in many arenas. Native American costumes are sold
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at party stores like Party City and most people do not understand why this is an issue. Selling a

tribal inspired costume is the same as wearing blackface, but people do not see it that way

because it has been found that most students are taught the Native Americans have all died and

are a thing of the past (Wade). Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, H&M and more

retail companies are notorious for selling “tribal” items like Navajo print, Indian sage or

dreamcatchers, teepees and more. As a society, we should not accept cultural items being sold

for a few dollars. Most schools or sports team have a Native American as their mascot, either the

chiefs, the Indians, or the Redskins. Redskins is an actual racial slur just like ‘nigger’ or

‘wetback.’ Those latter two terms are shocking to hear or at least recognized as offensive, yet a

whole NFL team uses another slur as a mascot. Can you fathom the riots, the backlash the NFL

would receive with a team with another slur. So we have to ask ourselves,why? Why do we

accept this? Often times, it is because individuals are unaware. At a previous job I held, I had a

manager tell me that Native Americans are too sensitive and that the term ‘Redskin’ does not

mean anything except as a description of their skin color. I informed him that Redskin is what

people would call Native Americans when they scalped them and sold their dead bodies for

money and he said that it never happened. He believes it never happened, probably because he

was never taught and he never made an effort to learn about Native Americans, despite his

claims to being 1/16th Cherokee. I do not think that a change in curriculum will change the

mindset of the country but I think it will ignite that spark and it will prevent the misconceptions

from becoming widespread. One state participating in this movement of getting rid of Native

American mascots is Maine. Meg Robbins from PressHerald.com writes “A bill that would ban

the use of Native American mascots in Maine’s public schools has passed the first round of

legislative approval” (2019). Robbins reporting also mentions “‘If you’re gonna follow the
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American Psychological Association study as a rule for this, it says any Native American mascot

imagery affects all children, Native American and not’” (PressHerald.com, 2019). In San

Francisco, people are feeling uncomfortable about a mural depicting Native Americans in

colonial times being killed (SFchronicle.com, 2019). Jill Tucker and Gwendolyn Wu report that

some parents, students, and staff believe the mural should be replaced with something uplifting

and that others believe the mural serves as a reminder of what happened to minority groups and

to remove it, does the exact same thing committed years ago. I have to agree with the latter,

history is not something to be erased. We’re supposed to learn from history and if that mural

makes you uncomfortable, ask yourself why and think about what should be done so that no one

else has to be uncomfortable. If children are taught from a young age that Native Americans are

still alive and that they might not see or know many Native Americans because of what has

happened in the past, this will make for caring and more compassionate adults.

Some people may argue cultural appropriation is not real or that Christopher Columbus is

a hero and for those people, truly think about what is happening in the world around you. Just

because you are fine, does not mean that the entire world is fine. There are people being

discriminated against because of your ignorance. It is important to pay attention to what is

happening and what has occurred in your own country. If the government has done something

before, why wouldn’t they do it again? The main argument I anticipate is that young children

need to be protected from the truth. That there is a time and place for everything and elementary

schools are not that setting. That there is nothing harmful about not teaching our youth history,

what they do not know can not hurt them-- right? This is not correct. Hiding the truth does

nothing but keep humans comfortable with their own biases. And we all have biases, but that

does not mean we are the only person with the right mindset. Children should be taught the truth
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so that Native Americans can rebuild and restore their cultures. As stated on Tolerance.org by

Kellie Cunnigham Bliss, “All American children—Native and non-Native—deserve the right to

learn the full truth about culture, history, land ownership, current and historical contributions,

and to see everyone accurately reflected in all classrooms” (2013). If the people in control over

the tribal lands all have the same biases and knowledge from their third grade class, what is

going to motivate them to aid in restoring resources or helping rebuild culture. If future business

owners come in with the ignorant and simple mindset that they were molded into from

elementary school, what will stop them from selling culture. Absolutely nothing. One state

taking the initiative to change curriculum in an appropriate way is Maine. Robbie Feinburg

writes an article for BangorDailyNews.com and says “since the beginning of the year, [staff]

have been meeting with tribal leaders to create the basic outline of a curriculum” (2019). Maine

passed a law in 2001 requiring public institutions to teach Native American history and culture

(Feinburg, 2019). According to Sarah Shear in an article she wrote for Psmag.com, 87% of

Native American references portray Indigenous people as a thing of the past. Shear also

mentions that New Mexico is the only state to mention a Native American movement and

Washington is the only state to use the word genocide, only four states mention Native American

boarding schools. Shear continues to say “There was ‘nothing,’ she said, about contemporary

issues for American Indian populations or the ongoing conflicts over land and water rights or

sovereignty.” Shear sums up her article saying “curricular choices matter. So long as young

people learn to think of Indians no differently than they do Vikings and Ancient Romans, they

will overwhelmingly fail to notice or care about ongoing interpersonal and institutional

discrimination against American Indians who are here now.” These issues are very real and
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extend to more than just a statistic, it affects real people everyday, which is why a change must

be made.

Ignorance to these issues often feels like a slap in the face and that it has effects that

seems undoable, like the future is already set and we have to tolerate it. There are people

throughout the country who feel like they do not have an identity or place in the world because

their entire tribe has died off, there are people who are worried for the fate of their tribes because

they are on a downward spiral. There are people losing their homes because their tribal land is

being constructed on for oil or water. Indigenous people are still here, they still exist and they are

just as deserving as everyone else to have a chance to survive.

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References

Jones, C., & Jones, C. (n.d.). Native Americans push schools to include their story in California

history classes. Retrieved from

https://edsource.org/2018/native-americans-push-schools-to-include-their-story-in-califor

nia-history-classes/600669

Native Culture Should Be Taught Year Round. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/native-culture-should-be-taught-year-round

Public, M. (2019, February 07). A 2001 law says Maine schools must teach Native American

history, but many still don't. Retrieved from

https://bangordailynews.com/2019/02/07/news/state/a-2001-law-says-maine-schools-mus

t-teach-native-american-history-but-many-still-dont/

Rewriting History-for the Better. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2015/rewriting-historyfor-the-better

Sentinel, M. R. (2019, April 02). Bill to ban Native American mascots in Maine schools backed

by divided committee. Retrieved from

https://www.pressherald.com/2019/04/01/bill-banning-native-american-mascots-in-public

-schools-passes-in-committee/

Tucker, J., & Wu, G. (2019, April 08). Offensive or important? Debate flares anew over SF

school mural depicting slavery and colonial brutality. Retrieved from

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https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Offensive-or-important-Debate-flares-anew-

over-13748800.php

Wade, L. (2014, December 03). Schools Teach Children That Native Americans Are History.

Retrieved from

https://psmag.com/social-justice/u-s-schools-teaching-children-native-americans-history-

95324