Youngblood 1

Isaac Youngblood

Cooper, 4

AP Lang, SOAPSTone

22 August 2018

Momaday N. Scott, “The Becoming of the Native: Man in America Before Columbus.” 1993.

Conversations in American Literature​. Eds Robin Dissin Aufses, et al. Bedford/St.

Martins. 2015. Pp 198-203, Accessed 22 August 2018

SPEAKER

Navarre Scott Momaday is an American Indian, specifically a Kiowa. He is an author who

received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his book, ​House Made of Dawn​. He was awarded the

National Medal of the Arts and Poet Laureate of Oklahoma in 2007.

OCCASION

This article was the first essay in the book, ​America in 1492: The World of the Indian People

Before the Arrival of Columbus​, published in 1993. This book brought together scholars to show

the Native American life prior to Columbus arriving.

AUDIENCE

Readers of this article would include scholars or readers with a specific historical interest.

Specifically, those interested in a deeper understanding of the inhabitants of the Americas prior

to Columbus arriving.

PURPOSE

Momaday wrote this text in order to share his own personal experience as an American Indian in

light of his understanding of historical accounts. His reference to the stories he has been told and
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the truth he knows should encourage the reader to question the idea that something is only true if

there is documented evidence.

SUBJECT

Momaday brings insight to the intricate details of natives prior to Columbus. He points out the

flaw in the historical assumption that the term “New World” signals that this land was new and

not occupied. As an American Indian, he states that he believes that he is able to speak to the

issue with “ancestral experience” and offers his “origin myth” and stories to paint a picture of

those native before Columbus.

TONE

Peace and compassion underlay this essay. By using terms like myth, oral tradition, ceremony,

and storytelling he relaxes the reader with his own personal experiences. Momaday is thoughtful

about his statements and achieves his goal of causing the reader to question what they know.
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Nunn, Nathan and Nancy Qian, ​The Journal of Economic Perspectives,​ “The Columbian

Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas”, Vol. 24 No. 2 Pp. 163-168, American

Economic Association, Spring 2010

SPEAKER

Nathan Nunn is in his mid 40s and from Canada. He is currently a Frederic E. Abbe Professor of

Economics at Harvard and received his PhD from University of Toronto.

Nancy Qian is from Shanghai, China. She is about 40 years of age and currently a professor at

Kellogg and has a PhD in Economics from MIT. She studies development economics and

analyzes historical data and its effects.

OCCASION

This article was written in the Spring of 2010. The article was written by two scholars and

published by the American Economic Association in ​The Journal of Economic Perspectives​.

This specific journal focuses on providing articles that, “fill the gap between the general interest

press and most other academic economic journals.”

AUDIENCE

This article is directed at scholars and readers highly interested in specific topics about historical

economic impacts. This piece would also serve an audience of students that are studying

American History.

PURPOSE

Nathan and Nancy wrote this article in a journal as a compilation and completion of their

research analysis on the topic of the Columbian Exchange. There hope is that this research will

inspire others to investigate these neglected topics. The information that was provided in this
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piece will allow readers access to research in order to use the data in bettering their own

understanding of this topic.

SUBJECT

Nunn and Qian focus on the Columbian Exchange, “the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops,

and population between the New World and the Old World,” after the Columbus came to the

Americas. Specifically, they focus on the impact that the good in the Americas had on the

Eastern Hemisphere. They touch on everything from the positive impacts of potatoes and an

increase in population and urbanization; negative effects from disease; suitable soil to mass

produce sugar and coffee; to the interesting influence of new world produce on diets of the

world.

TONE

The tone is very informative. Nathan and Nancy are both scholars and definitely believe that the

New World has had an impact on the Old World. There was a sense that they were doing a

preliminary report and where reporting with an openness to further review.

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Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, “Chapter 2: Culture of Conquest”, ​An Indigenous People’s History of the

United States,​ September 2014

SPEAKER

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is an author that is active in the international indigenous movement for

more than 40 years. Her focus is on national and international social justice issues. She received

her PhD from University of California at Los Angeles. She continues to be an active writer and

speaker.

OCCASION

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz published this book in 2015. It was the first time a book told the history of the

United States from the perspective of indigenous people. In a time that groups are protesting

Columbus Day and indigenous groups are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, this book

offers a resource for understanding why people are protesting.

AUDIENCE

Readers of this chapter are most likely interested in reading the whole book. In addition, this

book would appeal to scholars interested in the historical ramifications of events that occurred in

Europe and their influence on the colonization of the Americas. Lastly, this book received the

American Book Award in 2015 and probably widened its audience base with the popularity from

that nomination.

PURPOSE

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz wrote this chapter as part of her book, ​An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the

United States.​ Her goal was to provide readers with an informative look at how colonists were

already experienced with prior violent, unfair, and unjust treatment of indigenous people.
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SUBJECT

Dunbar-Ortiz sets up the idea that long before explorers came to the Americas, colonists, and

those that backed them, were practicing acts of conquest on other areas throughout the Eastern

Hemisphere. She specifically references how they were already dominating other races with

violence. She points out acts of killing off unwanted populations if they occupied desirable land,

debating whether population decreases were from violent acts or disease exposure. Finally she

points to greed as an integral motivator for colonizers. All of these factors heavily influenced the

impact on the indigenous people of the Americas.

TONE

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz has a very matter of fact and monotone writing voice. This tone makes it hard

to stay engaged while reading her work.

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Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, “Chapter 3: Cult of the Covenant”, ​An Indigenous People’s History of

the United States​, September 2014

SPEAKER

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is an author that is active in the international indigenous movement for

more than 40 years. Her focus is on national and international social justice issues. She received

her PhD from University of California at Los Angeles. She continues to be an active writer and

speaker.

OCCASION

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz published this book in 2015. It was the first time a book told the history of the

United States from the perspective of indigenous people. In a time that groups are protesting

Columbus Day and indigenous groups are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, this book

offers a resource for understanding why people are protesting.

AUDIENCE

Readers of this chapter are most likely interested in reading the whole book. This book is

targeted to appeal to scholars interested in the historical ramifications of events that occurred in

Europe and their influence on the colonization of the Americas. This book received the

American Book Award in 2015 and probably widened its audience base with the popularity from

that nomination.

PURPOSE

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz wrote this chapter as part of her book, ​An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the

United States​. Her goal was to provide readers with information about the myths and
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misconceptions that override ugly and uncomfortable facts about the early discovery and

establishment of America.

SUBJECT

Dunbar-Ortiz explains how early American settlers were justifying their actions and conquests of

native Americans by pointing to scriptural passages and a belief that God had promised them this

land. She specifically references how Europeans and other white nations had a history of

conquering lands based on a covenant from God.

TONE

Ms. Dunbar-Ortiz has a demeaning tone towards the European settlers. She counters

conventional thinking with an indigenous perspective on American history. She uses a matter of

fact and monotone writing voice. This tone reflects the somber nature of the topic.
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Weatherford, Jack, “Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus”, ​The Jatibonicu Taino

Tribal Band of New Jersey US Regional Taino Tribal Affiars[sic] Office located in

Lenapehoken, the land of the Lenape People​, http://www.hartford-hwp.com/Taino/do

cs/columbus.html, Accessed 22 August 2018.

SPEAKER

Jack Weatherford is a retired anthropology professor from Macalaster College in St. Paul,

Minnesota. He focuses his research on tribal people and how their interactions impact society

and world history. He currently lives in Mongolia where he has focused a lot of his research on

the study of Mongols.

OCCASION

This article was originally written in 1989. At this same time, Weatherford wrote the book,

Indian Givers, How Native Americans Transformed the World, ​focusing on the ways he believes

Indians have actually impacted American history.

AUDIENCE

This article was originally written for the Baltimore Evening Sun newspaper. It has been

referenced and reprinted in multiple publications, websites, and blogs. Readers interested in

studying history or those drawn in by the title description would be likely candidates.

PURPOSE

Weatherford wrote this text in order to bring factual knowledge to interpretations of historical

information. Readers should be encouraged to not accept all information because that is what

they were taught in school but to research and study all known resources from that time.
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SUBJECT

Weatherford dismantles Christopher Columbus’ broadly known American history with multiple

historical references that dispute these claims. He states that Columbus was, “no more the

discoverer of America than Pocahontas was the discoverer of Great Britain” and points to Cabot

as the first European explorer to document his visit to North America. He references documents

that cause the reader to question what they know of historical information about Columbus.

TONE

The tone is set in the first sentence when Weatherford references Pocahontas and the

preposterous idea that she discovered Great Britain. His writing style reflects a tone of

snootiness and makes statements mocking some historical information.

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Zinn, Howard, “Chapter 1: COLUMBUS, THE INDIANS, AND HUMAN PROGRESS”,

History is a Weapon, h​ ttp://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html​,

Accessed 22 August 2018.

SPEAKER

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a Jewish author, historian, playwright and civil rights activist.

He grew up in New York City with humble means. His work experience spanned blue collar and

military experiences before becoming a professor, first teaching history at Spelman College,

where he was dismissed for supporting student protests, and later teaching political science at

Boston University. His military tours during World War II shaped his views about the atrocities

of war, notably that even if the overarching mission was overwhelmingly moral, the day to day

abuses remained cruel, excessive and unjust. He embraced the Constitutional objectives for life,

liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone, adamantly and passionately defying social

injustice.

OCCASION

Looking back in time nearly five centuries, Zinn offers a different perspective on Christopher

Columbus and the events surrounding 1492. It is well documented that Columbus set out to

bring back gold and spices and establish trade routes with India but mistakenly landed in

America. Zinn takes a critical view to unearth the deeper bias in traditional US history, which

glorifies Columbus’s accomplishment, and instead provides an alarming narrative contrasting the

kindness and generosity of Native Americans with the insatiable lust for wealth and power by

their European conquerors.

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AUDIENCE

The book is for Americans, government leaders, educators, and students - and more broadly, for

activists around the world - who are interested in learning about a more complete view of

American history, and taking action to make the world a better place for everyone.

PURPOSE

Zinn wrote the book in order to stir up compassion for the conquered, with a different

perspective on US history that pointedly conflicts with predominant European-centric narratives.

The critique aligns to a broader context of bias in historical texts, which are typically written by

the victors, and thus minimize or rationalize social injustices that occurred en route to the

conquest.

SUBJECT

Native Americans had established a society marked by peace, morality, and environmental

sustainability before the invasion by Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century. The

European conquerors brutally exploited and ravaged the Native Americans in what constituted an

act of genocide, all for the sake of selfish gains measured in gold, slavery, and power.

TONE

Zinn has an attitude of compassion towards the Native Americans, and what they endured at the

hands of their European conquerors. He inserts examples of Native American’s harmonious

lifestyle, contrasted with their brutal murder, torture and enslavery by Europeans. Zinn provides

log entries from Columbus which illustrate his insensitivity towards Native Americans, and

contrasts them with log entries from a Spanish priest who vehemently opposed the increasingly

brutal attacks and treatment of the natives. Zinn reframes Columbus discovery of America as a
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genocidal conquest, providing facts and figures of the sharp decline of the Native American

population in the decades following Columbus’ arrival.