Native Americans: The Value of Environmental and Cultural History

Table of Contents

Introduction
History and Environment
Environmental Injustice
American Identity
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Dear Mr. President,

I am aware that you are quite a busy person, but I am asking for a small portion of your time to read this short letter. I believe that as the leader of our nation, you are particularly familiar with the history of the United States. However, our country’s chronology is prolonged, and you, as well as many of our fellow citizens, may not know some important elements. Therefore, I would like to discuss the influence of geopolitical constructions on American identity. In particular, I intend to focus on the history of dispossession and displacement of Native Americans, which reflects a pivotal period that can define our society today. I have done some research and included the sources at the end of this text to review if you should be interested in assessing the credibility of the presented information. Upon reading this letter, I hope that you will better understand what our people may need to realize or change in themselves and their surroundings. The narrative of Indigenous Americans is valuable for modern Americans because without knowing the past, one cannot build the future.

History and Environment

History classes in the United States primarily concentrate on the relations between different people and neglect human connections with the environment. Notably, such relationships concern spirituality, sustainability, community, and a sense of home (Whyte, 2018). A person and their environment are interconnected, as the former is meant to be respectful of and care for the latter in order to preserve everyone and everything existing within a certain space (Whyte, 2018). For instance, even areas described with the word “wilderness” and perceived to be free of civilization were created by human cultures during particular periods (Cronon, 1996). Consequently, the history of Native Americans involves the environment in which they lived before being colonized.

The United States of America, its love for freedom and human rights, and its identity emerged from foreign invasions. Whyte (2018) argues that settler colonization was a disruption of human relationships with the environment. Native Americans had populated the areas for years and created unique systems within their surroundings, which were destroyed by colonists’ aspirations to build their own homelands (Whyte, 2018). The settlers brought with them exotic materials and such living beings as plants and animals, but they also destroyed many local species (Whyte, 2018). The colonists deforested spaces, drained wetlands, and changed Indigenous ecologies (Whyte, 2018). The forceful modification of an already inhabited environment was interconnected with the first U.S. settlements.

American identity could be different today if the colonists had more respect for the Indigenous peoples. Whyte (2018) suggests that Native Americans did not reside in one distinct area as they migrated from one environment to another. They understood the concepts of change and transformation, but the Indigenous population also had reciprocal responsibility of giving and receiving (Whyte, 2018). For example, the ancient Anishinaabe had such responsibilities with water and rice by using the products but also protecting rice habitats (Whyte, 2018). However, it appears that the settlers did not attempt to adjust to the environment but rather strived to damage it for their own benefit (Whyte, 2018). The first colonists did not simply endanger Indigenous physical bodies, minds, and souls but also threatened Native Americans’ relations with their homeland (Cherniavsky, 2007; Whyte, 2018). Instead of coexisting with the locals, the settlers endangered ecosystems that presented unique practices and worldviews.

Environmental Injustice

Mr. President, I anticipate that by this point, you may object to my discussion by suggesting that the initial colonists do not represent modern society. I would agree with such a remark, and even Whyte (2018) implies that a person’s identity can vary depending on a precise place and time. Nonetheless, I am not trying to undermine history, but I would like to bring your attention to how the past affects contemporary times. In particular, I am concerned with how the settlers’ and their descendants perceived themselves during the prolonged displacement of Native Americans. For instance, after the Civil War, the country’s wealthiest individuals started choosing wilderness as recreational landscapes (Cronon, 1996). However, those territories were once homes of Indigenous peoples who were forced to move elsewhere so that the local tourists could enjoy nature, which they thought of as part of their own nation (Cronon, 1996). Native Americans have been silenced and deprived of their environment for the generations of colonists to thrive.

For the Indigenous population, losing their habitats meant losing their cultures. Settler colonialism pushed Native Americans to relocate to reservations (Whyte, 2018). Such areas did not protect Indigenous peoples but rather restricted access to places for harvesting and ceremonial practices (Whyte, 2018). Relocation policies divided and separated Native communities, as the people could not maintain the languages and customs that were necessary for trust and consent (Whyte, 2018). Moreover, boarding schools for children from Indigenous families encouraged heteropatriarchal values and neglected the students’ heritages and intellectual traditions (Whyte, 2018). By being banished from their lands, Native Americans began relinquishing their identities.

As the Indigenous peoples could not be fully free in their homeland, their current state of living is quite insufficient. The unsustainable settler colonialism led to environmental injustice against numerous citizens of the modern U.S. (Whyte, 2018). Native Americans, but also people of color and other minority populations who are discriminated against, live in areas with violence and extensive pollution (Whyte, 2018). The unfair and disrespectful treatment of the Indigenous peoples has affected other vulnerable groups, forcing them to reside in unpleasant territories.

American Identity

Interestingly, it appears that even if modern Americans know about the hardships faced by the Native population, the settlers’ descendants put more blame on the Indigenous communities. According to a film Monumental Myths-Movie added on YouTube by Trinley (2012), some monuments placed across the country can deceive the citizens about the past rather than educate them. For example, Image 1 presents a screenshot from the movie with a monument that portrays Native Americans as naive, primitive, and unclothed and settlers as well-dressed and civilized (Trinley, 2012). Such memorials glorify the colonists, who are shown as heroes, and diminish the Indigenous populations, who are depicted as small and weak (Trinley, 2012). The observers tend to believe that what is displayed in the monuments correctly reflects history, thus thinking that the settlers had the right to claim American lands because they defeated the inferior Natives (Trinley, 2012). Accordingly, the Indigenous peoples’ unfavorable living conditions can contribute to the belief (Whyte, 2018). As a result, American identity is based on the feeling of pride for the ancestors’ victories rather than mindfulness of their injustice behavior.

Image 1. The Purchase of Manhattan (Trinley, 2012, 00:09:15-00:09:44).

Conclusion

I understand that no one can rewrite history, and I do not intend to undermine our nation in this letter. However, upon reflecting on my learning process, I have realized that as a country, we must know our past better. I do not think that the colonists’ actions define society nowadays, but I also do not agree that the Indigenous peoples should continue struggling because their territories had been taken away. Our citizens’ identity should not be based on the presumption that the settlers were heroes. It is the nation’s responsibility to remember that when interacting with each other, people affect more than bodies and minds but environments and their prospects of maintaining lives and creating new opportunities. I decided to write this letter because I believe that of all people, you have the power to help Native Americans feel free in their homeland again.

Sincerely yours,

Student Name_____________________________________