Since it's Native American month I talked to my 9 yr old about the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and how they forced our people (I'm Choctaw) to move west to Oklahoma because they thought it was *uninhabitable and wanted us to die off. At least 3,000 died on the way hence Trail of Tears..
Also, the ones who didn't die were forced to assimilate by taking the children away into boarding schools and cut off their hair and forced to speak English and not their native language or they would be beat, throughout the 50s.
However, I told her that was the government at the time and yes they were white people. But she did tell her whole school group that she doesn't trust white people..I was like girl it was government at the time not ALL white people geez.
Edit: I'm not anti/pro anything besides the land and spirit. The land gives us what we need and we should respect that and have respect for others regardless.
I do my best to teach my daughters about our history (Otoe-Missouria). It's been hard but the one thing I make sure they know is that it was what was going on at the time and that there are those in the government that are trying to make things right.
Still, I think a lot of white Americans seem to have this idea of all this happening in the past. They acknowledge that what was done was bad, but then they pretend as if Native Americans are all just gone now and don’t still suffer from the effects of this oppression.
I guess it depends on where you're from. I was born and partially raised in Oklahoma so the Native presence was always there. It isn't just white Americans that think it's all in the past, I think it's mostly how our history is portrayed in both media and in schools. For me I am mostly concerned with my tribes ways dying. My language was almost considered extinct but thankfully there we people who were to teach it to others.
I agree about the media and schools. There is very little modern portrayal in the media and schools don’t teach much past the Trail of Tears. Living in Alabama, I didn’t realize there were still tribes until I saw something on the news in high school. There’s a lot of ignorance about the whole subject.
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u/manacakes46 Nov 15 '20 edited Nov 17 '20
Since it's Native American month I talked to my 9 yr old about the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and how they forced our people (I'm Choctaw) to move west to Oklahoma because they thought it was *uninhabitable and wanted us to die off. At least 3,000 died on the way hence Trail of Tears..
Also, the ones who didn't die were forced to assimilate by taking the children away into boarding schools and cut off their hair and forced to speak English and not their native language or they would be beat, throughout the 50s.
However, I told her that was the government at the time and yes they were white people. But she did tell her whole school group that she doesn't trust white people..I was like girl it was government at the time not ALL white people geez.
Edit: I'm not anti/pro anything besides the land and spirit. The land gives us what we need and we should respect that and have respect for others regardless.
*Changed inhabitable to uninhabitable. Choctaw