We Shall Remain

There are a lot of things I'm not really interested in.
Dolphins, manatees, and marine life in general. Military history. Cars. Most sports. Some people (true confession!).

I've never been that interested in Native American history until, well, I guess about 4 years ago, when Ben and I started reading a few books on the history of Minnesota and came across some really riveting accounts of the contact and conflict between White settlers and the Native Peoples of the Dakota territories.

It has been my experience (especially with the people part) that interest and real care develop quite naturally when I dig into the intricacies of a person or topic area. To get to know him, her or it, if you will.

That is my experience with the stories of the people who called this place where I now live home.

It's really easy to be ignorant of those stories. In fact, I've been surprised by how hard it really is to find decent film and print histories about specific Native American peoples or time periods. I tried to put together a unit for one of my classes at RCHS a couple of years ago and couldn't come up with much of anything aid me in teaching about the Cherokee people and the Trail of Tears. And those are not exactly obscure topics!


So. Ben and I are jumping into a PBS series (full episodes may be viewed through the official website) called American Experience: We Shall Remain. The 5-part series follows pivotal events within 300 years of Native history, from the arrival of the Mayflower to Wounded Knee. A few years ago we listened to a book on CD (cannot find the title!) about very early America. That account of the post-Mayflower time period was slightly different than this PBS version, but only in particular details. As is with much of history, a lot is known and a lot is not. Our next episode is about the Trail of Tears, an event we are are especially interested in because it literally took place in our back yard. In some ways, though, I am apprehensive about watching it because I know that gaining knowledge about this event is sure to affect me emotionally and give me a sense of responsibility that I won't know what to do with. Yuck.

But those are poor reasons to remain ignorant. And the stories are indeed an "essential part of American history" and super interesting.

We'll let you know what we learn.

What are you recently interested in? What don't I know about you? What truths/realities burden you?