The Stirrings of Subversion

Posted in ParentingSocial Justice on Nov 18, 2011 - 02:29 AM

It's that time of year again. All of the Christmas decorations are hitting the store shelves way too early; people are propping up trees before the turkey is even killed, let alone cooked; and children are running around after school, sporting their pilgrim hats and "Indian" feathers. War paint, garb, and lines to the latest "First Thanksgiving" play may also be prominently featured during play or bus stop chat.

If there was one single thing that poked the speck of homeschooling sand beneath my wholly public-schooled shell prior to its pearled status in my heart, it was the way we learn about the first Thanksgiving in schools. I can remember the shock and outrage I experienced when I learned that, after so many years of not only being fed but being forced to act out stereotypical tropes regarding how our country was born, it was largely, if not completely, lies.

I still feel this outrage, this pain. I feel as if I were made into a fool, and that I spent years of my life disrespecting and even ridiculing millions of people with my stupid "Running Deer" christenings and Halloween costumes. Though I am comforted slightly by the fact that it was fascination with a culture and not meanness toward it that led me in those days, I cannot claim that my actions were respectful. Even if they were intended to be--and I meant no malice, for sure--they simply mirrored the complete disregard and destruction that our own people and government wreaked for so long; indeed, the injustices they continue to uphold.

I still am not sure about how to teach this period of history to my child. She is six now, and not ready to hear about rape or cannibalism or mass genocide. But she has already been exposed to enough media to where she recognizes the stereotypical "Indian;" indeed, our own bowling alley has a statue that confuses her when I only try to explain it to her. What resources can I use to help her understand without developing the same biases and erroneous notions that I did at her age? What would be appropriate to tell her about our history? Just not being in those happy-go-lucky pilgrim plays will help, for sure, but it is certainly not enough.

Social justice and consciousness are implemented in all that we do. I don't want her to hate her country, as I often have, but to understand its true history and its bearing on who we all are today. I want her to learn about our country's mistakes, and to see how she might go about remedying them. I want her to develop a true love for her country out of what she feels and learns, not some indoctrinated nationalism forced through daily flag worship and happy stories about hand-holding and sharing corn. Most of all, I want her to come to her own conclusions, to critically examine past and present in order to prepare for the future, and to see things with a compassion and humanness that most history books lack.

And I don't have all of the answers yet. But I do know that this awareness will not be coming through the Halloween costumes I revered and the falsehoods that I was made to memorize at her age.

Tags for this entry:
social justice, history, social responsibility, social awareness, thanksgiving

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