“We the People” is a
series of beautiful library bound four color books that tells the history
of the United States. Chapter
one of “The Arapaho and Their History” starts with the Sand Creek Massacre
of 1864,” Using quotes and
photos that give an accurate feeling of the United States toward the
American Indians during the 1800’s like “Nit’s breed lice,”
completing vivid description of the massacre, along with an image of a
recruitment poster seeking cavalry volunteers to fight Indians, one is
anxious to read the coming pages with piqued interest.
Chapter two then begins with “10,000 years ago, ancestors of the
Arapaho crossed a land bridge…” negating Native beliefs of coming from
the land in which we live, and reinforcing Manifest Destiny without even
mentioning it. If this had
been left out and present-tense were to be used I without hesitation would
have recommended this series. We
do learn that there are more than 7000 Arapaho living today between
Wyoming and Oklahoma reservations, on much less land than they originally
inhabited. Chapter three discusses the hunting practices of these
nomadic people who did not have permanent homes, but had tipis made of 15
to 20 buffalo skins, which were originally pulled by dogs on a travois
until horses were introduced by the Spanish.
Chapter four discuses Family and community where the children
learned skills by watching and playing, listening to stories of their
older relatives. Other traditions were passed along through membership
groups called “lodges”, and sacred ceremonies such as the Sun Dance.
Chapter Five gives a brief look at the ceremonial aspects of the
Sun Dance and seems to question the knowledge of medicine people.
Chapter Six speaks about the peaceful lodge leaders and the wartime
leaders, how they were selected and a tradition known as “Counting
Coup” on ones enemy. Chapter
Seven mentions the Louisiana Purchase, Merriweather Lewis and William
Clark, disease, alcoholism, the California Gold Rush, and how these people
all changed the paths of the buffalo herds.
The treaty of Medicine Lodge, which created the southern Arapaho
& Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma, is mentioned in chapter Eight
“The Years of Change,” as well as boarding schools and the ban of
Native American Religion during the years of 1904 to 1934.
During the Twentieth century the Arapaho worked on regaining some
rights by forming a constitutional government, getting legal control of
their reservation mineral rights, mining, and cattle farming, yet many of
the Arapaho remain unemployed according to Chapter Nine “The Arapaho
Today.”
In the Arapaho book:
1) page
8 - The Land bridge theory is a “theory” not necessarily proven, each
tribe has their own creation story of how they came into existence, and to
ignore this is to ignore a historical oral tradition and perpetuates a
stereotype..
2)
page 24 “The medicine man also supposedly had special knowledge
of the spirit world.” The supposedly makes me, the reader, think that
this is something made up and makes me question the integrity of the
people being discussed. A
medicine man in my culture could have many rolls, he could be a dance
leader (meaning he leads our ceremonies), he could be an herbologist /
ethnobotonist (or doctor), he
could be a spiritual healer (priest, preacher etc) but the only reason he
would be considered any of these would be if he or she has been properly
trained and is good at their practice.
If he or she was not, he could be put to death.
3)
page 29 “All these people changed the paths of the buffalo
herds.” The buffalo’s
paths were not changed… the buffalo were killed off making it very
difficult for Indian tribes to feed their families and much easier for the
government to persuade the tribes to sign treaties giving up land for
food, education, and health care.
4) page
30 “The Arapaho signed a
treaty with the United States giving up some land.”
Any treaty signed gave up American Indian Rights and land with
little return from the US. The
first treaty signed between a tribal entity and the U.S. Government was
signed in 1778. The final treaty was signed in 1868, meaning that only 367
treaties were ratified. Please
see American Indian Treaties by Francis Prucha
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