Day 16 | About Colonization
With gratitude to our colleagues in the Educational Studies Department (EDST) for compiling today’s challenge resources.
The expression “colonization” has gained a great amount of use in recent decades. At earlier times, peopled debated about assimilation and integration. It is important to understand what colonization, assimilation, and integration are. In the context of Indigenous Peoples, colonization has come to mean any kind of external control, and it is used as an expression for the subordination of Indian peoples and their rights since early contact with Europeans. In North America, colonization took the task of subordinating Indigenous Peoples to the political power of Christian European kings. In Spanish colonies, with the appearance of the colonists, the land was immediately considered under the control of the colonizing nations. Indigenous Peoples had only the right to land sufficient for their agricultural subsistence.
- The excerpt above is from Assimilation, Integration and Colonization by Duane Champagne)
Today: Do one or more of the following:
READ National Museum of the American Indian: FAQ page of the most frequently asked questions from educators Teaching & Learning about Native Americans
WATCH “The Indian Problem,” a video from the National Museum of the American Indian that teaches about the history of colonization and US-Indigenous relations: The Indian Problem
Review The Invasion of America interactive map and video illustrating the >1.5 billion acres of Indigenous homelands the United States government seized between 1776-1887.
WATCH Broken Treaties | The Oregon Experience For thousands of years, more than 60 Native American tribes lived in Oregon’s diverse environmental regions. At least 18 languages were spoken across hundreds of villages. This civilizational fabric became unraveled in just a few short decades upon contact with white settlers in the 19th century. In this “”Oregon Experience”” documentary, Native Oregonians reflect on what has been lost since and what’s next for their tribes.
Don’t forget to log your activities!