We recently went to the USA and had a wonderful time, not long enough of course, but wonderful all the same. We travelled to five different states, a wonderful road trip!
While wandering round the different places, we were very interested in all the historical notices about the events which had taken place in the area, especially during the War of Independence, and learned a lot about the people involved over the centuries who helped make the country that the United States is today. There were inspiring stories of ordinary people who stood up for what they believed in, and fought for their freedom and independence.
However, nowhere that we travelled, did we find any mention of the people who had lived in this land before the Europeans came, nowhere. We saw names of places and rivers and geographical features, but no references to who was here in the before. We did research and found that the Lenape people had lived in the beautiful country that we saw on our travels. Most of the Lenape people were moved to Ohio in 1758.
As we drove along, mile after mile, hour after hour, I wondered why there wasn’t room for everyone in this vast land.
Lois Elsden 
The Americans have a way of distorting or even omitting history to suit there own ends. They never mention the war of 1812 to 1814 which they lost to the Canadians. The British and Indians left Sault Ste Marie and burned down the white house which got it’s name because they whitewashed it to cover up the remnants of the fire. The Indians are getting there own back now by building casinos on tribal land and sticking it to the white man.
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I didn’t know about the 1812-14 war… I must look it up!
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I wish I had known you were here Lois! You’re right, you have to seek out native representation but there are some places you can go to learn about the Native Americans. The museum of the American Indian in Washington DC comes immediately to my mind. But yes, these groups were nearly wiped out about a hundred years ago and have been marginalized to this day.
Everywhere I go in this country I think ‘this must have been paradise before the white man came.”
On the flip side, I remember how disconcerting it was when as an anthropology student, I realized that modern Europeans are the indigenous people of those lands! ☺
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We were here for such a short time, and Madeleine had such a little amount of time off work we had to just ‘skim’ the surface… but next time!!! She is hoping to head your way for a few days in September!
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