I’m often disconsolate about the gaps in my knowledge. One area that has dogged me is my knowledge of Native American history. It’s a raged wisp of what it should be.
When I attended elementary school, I was taught the following: that we bought Manhattan from Native Americans for a few buttons, and thereby eventually everything; that the pilgrims and Lewis and Clark were rescued by Native Americans; that the Native Americans were "noble savages" who lived in harmony with the land; that we broke a lot of treaties with them, but they shot a lot of arrows, so it all kind of muddled along and worked out (sort of) in the end. It was all very general, shallow, and imprecise, leaving me with a caricature.
While I've done better, since then, in learning their traditions and history, I still know so very little. But I’m going to tackle it.
Why should I, or you, care? History, like the roots of trees, nourishes and shapes our present. We cannot be free of it. It’s not just a matter of learning from history so as not to repeat it. It’s of great and indispensable importance for understanding who we are as a people and how the currents of our yesterdays reverberate in the oceans of our present and will fill the seas of our tomorrows.
It’s also important that we know our history, with all of its disappointments, so that we understand the wrongs, as well as the triumphs of our fathers. This is not necessarily so we can atone for our sins, wallow in our mistakes, or bring in a brighter future. However, to be ignorant of the wrongs of slavery, the errors of our adventurism, and the depredation of our Native Americans is to, again, demean their existence, to pass them off as unimportant, and to continue to be smug about our assumed importance.
To honor our friends and loved ones, we would think ourselves uncaring and insensitive to shirk taking the time to learn about their lives, their histories. If we truly believe in honoring and loving all men and extending good will to all cultures, we should strive to learn their histories with as much zeal as pursuing a lover.
I've finally started down the Native American path to gain a greater understanding of their culture and history. I challenge you pick just one area of knowledge that the universe has been urging you to discover, until the day when we truly do extend peace on earth and good will to all. Yes, it will be life-long journey of learning.
Loren M. Lambert © July 14, 2014
When I attended elementary school, I was taught the following: that we bought Manhattan from Native Americans for a few buttons, and thereby eventually everything; that the pilgrims and Lewis and Clark were rescued by Native Americans; that the Native Americans were "noble savages" who lived in harmony with the land; that we broke a lot of treaties with them, but they shot a lot of arrows, so it all kind of muddled along and worked out (sort of) in the end. It was all very general, shallow, and imprecise, leaving me with a caricature.
While I've done better, since then, in learning their traditions and history, I still know so very little. But I’m going to tackle it.
Why should I, or you, care? History, like the roots of trees, nourishes and shapes our present. We cannot be free of it. It’s not just a matter of learning from history so as not to repeat it. It’s of great and indispensable importance for understanding who we are as a people and how the currents of our yesterdays reverberate in the oceans of our present and will fill the seas of our tomorrows.
It’s also important that we know our history, with all of its disappointments, so that we understand the wrongs, as well as the triumphs of our fathers. This is not necessarily so we can atone for our sins, wallow in our mistakes, or bring in a brighter future. However, to be ignorant of the wrongs of slavery, the errors of our adventurism, and the depredation of our Native Americans is to, again, demean their existence, to pass them off as unimportant, and to continue to be smug about our assumed importance.
To honor our friends and loved ones, we would think ourselves uncaring and insensitive to shirk taking the time to learn about their lives, their histories. If we truly believe in honoring and loving all men and extending good will to all cultures, we should strive to learn their histories with as much zeal as pursuing a lover.
I've finally started down the Native American path to gain a greater understanding of their culture and history. I challenge you pick just one area of knowledge that the universe has been urging you to discover, until the day when we truly do extend peace on earth and good will to all. Yes, it will be life-long journey of learning.
Loren M. Lambert © July 14, 2014
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