Native American History Book Review

Words: 609
Pages: 3
Open Document
Briggs 3
Eyes,” Loewen discusses how textbooks use language that is favorable to whites when discussing Native American history. Textbooks often refer to white European immigrants as “settlers,” peaceful travelers looking for a new home. However, this ignores the fervor with which the Europeans forced Native Americans to leave their homes and move. It ignores the aggression that characterized the Europeans as they began to move across the continent. The term paints Europeans in a way that fits into America’s Eurocentric view of history. Along with labeling the pilgrims “settlers,” textbooks often refer to the unexplored West as the “frontier.” This creates the image of a boundary, which, in fact, did not exist. There was …show more content…
The Phoenicians and Egyptians were among the first to make major nautical voyages. These voyages, however, are often ignored because they do not support America’s Eurocentric view. If history textbooks acknowledged the great achievements of those people, they would be shunning the tradition of minimizing non-white contributions (Loewen 38). By presenting history through a Eurocentric lens, textbooks manage to reinforce America’s racial status quo. According to Wong, textbooks simplify the history of people of color to the point that they fail to really educate students on non-white contributions and history. For example, textbooks have reduced African-American history to slavery and a small piece on civil rights. By reducing that history into such a small window, textbooks fail to expand on non-white history and how that history is still influencing things today. By denying proper attention to the history of people of color, textbooks focus history onto white people and their accomplishments, which maintains the social status quo. When textbooks do discuss crimes committed against people of color by whites, they use vague language and try to minimize the brutality of whites. This distances whites from their ancestral heritage, absolving whites of any responsibility to fix past crimes (Wong, The Atlantic). Textbooks also tend to whitewash culture, often ignoring non-white influence on white culture and non-white accomplishments. A primary example of whitewashing is how textbooks never acknowledge how Native Americans influenced America’s early government. The founding fathers of the United States drew from Native American principles and beliefs and integrated them into American government. Many regional names come from words from different Native American languages. Regional cuisine is heavily influenced by Native American and African
Show More

Related Documents: Native American History Book Review

Native Americans in the United States and Book Essay

Paige O’Connor Professor Geer English 110 30 January 2015 Misunderstood Native American In this paper, we will be discussing the book, “The absolutely true story of a part time Native American”. This book really infiltrates the meaning of the term “other”. It is about a part time Native American, named Arnold, who seeks for a better like than what he suffers through. This book is quite amazing on how it depicts the Native American life and its upbringing. Arnold goes to a Reardan, a white school, to…

Words 1341 - Pages 6

Lies My Teacher Told Me Summary

Vermont and teaches in Washington D.C.) wrote a book, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (1996) on how American history books are wrong on how they portray history in America. In his book, he describes how high school students dislike history and how students see it as boring. Loewen explains that history books are very predictable and lacks the depth to make the stories intriguing. He also states that history books are biased and remove any information that would…

Words 597 - Pages 3

Tracks Paper

survival. By their very natures, the books actors, live far from prosperous existences. The story is related by two very different narrators. Elderly Nanapush and Sister Pauline. The method of Nanapush’s narration can take on a lyrical or poetic tone at times. He sets the scene beautifully “We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continue to fall.” From the books first line a grim precedent is set out before us. Giving us a clear picture of the books theme and setting. Nature and…

Words 1791 - Pages 8

Summary Of The Importance Of Christopher Columbus

The article, “ The True Importance of Christopher Columbus” sheds light on the bias way American history treats Christopher Columbus. As the author points out, in the United States, Christopher Columbus is seen as a hero, and is credited with discovering the Americas. This belief is reinforced by history books used in all levels of education. However a more accurate review of history shows there many untruths to the traditional Christopher Columbus story. To understand the success of Christopher…

Words 918 - Pages 4

Essay about Edu 352

in learning about early American civilizations. A couple of the apps that I would use are as followed: Manual for the United States of America: This app will allow the students to take a closer look at the documents that helps form the United States. IT takes a close look into the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, Federalist papers and much more. We can also use the app called On This Day. is app will allow students to see the importance of history and how back then things…

Words 758 - Pages 4

Summary Of Lowen's Textbook

Out of any book to read or study, the textbook is by far the most boring. In the textbooks they just give you the most important details. They don’t tell you the story or the minor details. They leave out the feelings of the people in the stories they are telling. This book deals with exactly this problem. Lowen tells you about everything that textbooks told you wrong because they only told you part of the story or what they thought was important. According Lowen most college students go into college…

Words 823 - Pages 4

Iroquois Culture

3 decades North American native has become more exposed than every before, the need t understand and accept has grown. The history has so many different aspects that there are always certain parts that is always lacking, many forget to study all the many components before the treaties which were made by the British, French and the Dutch and before the occupy of the European countries. Before the separation of the continent to three different countries, the North American native tribes had ten different…

Words 1504 - Pages 7

Native American History Research Paper

Introduction Native American history and culture has been generally misunderstood or misconstrued by outsiders. They were the first settlers of North America, yet why isn’t their history, culture, and feats been recorded in tomes of history books or taught to the average student in the elementary/secondary classroom? The ordinary person’s knowledge of Native Americans’ appearance, clothing, life-style, history, personality, and academic and artistic achievements most often comes from fictional…

Words 1653 - Pages 7

Book Review Essay examples

Book Review: Trail of Tears The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation By John Ehle The author John Ehle approaches the discuses of the Cherokee Nation rather abstractly. Leavening very little detail out he is able to capture the feeling, emotions, and meaning if this time period within his book. Trail of Tears The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation focuses on many aspect of Native American life. Ehle take the reader back in time to experience what time Native American felt. This story is told from…

Words 1188 - Pages 5

Summary Of Revolution Against Empire Justin Du Rivage

Erik Dickerson 1/9/18 Dr. Charles Levine History 103 Book Review: The book I chose to read was Revolution Against Empire: Taxes, Politics, and the Origins of American Independence. The book was written by Justin du Rivage. Rivage graduated magna cum laude, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa fraternity at Pomona College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree. He then went on to attend the University of Cambridge where he earned his Master of Philosophy degree. Eventually he decided to attended…

Words 744 - Pages 3