Unlearning the Language of Conquest: Scholars Expose Anti-Indianism in America

301 Pages·2006·1.9 MB·English

by  Four Arrows (Don Trent Jacobs)

unlearning the language of conquest
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Scholars
Expose
unlearning the language
Anti-
of conquest
Indianism
(Deceptions that infl uence war and peace, civil liberties, public in America
education, religion and spirituality, democratic ideals, the
environment, law, literature, fi lm, and happiness)
edited by
wahinkpe topa (four arrows)
aka don trent jacobs
university of texas press
Austin
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Copyright © 2006 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2006
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should
be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
(cid:2) The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Unlearning the language of conquest : scholars expose anti- Indianism in
America : deceptions that infl uence war and peace, civil liberties, public
education, religion and spirituality, democratic ideals, the environment,
law, literature, fi lm, and happiness / edited by Wahinkpe Topa (Four
Arrows), aka Don Trent Jacobs. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-292-70654-5 (cl. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-292-70654-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-292-71326-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-292-71326-6
1. Indians of North America—Public opinion. 2. Indians of North
America—History. 3. Indians in popular culture—United States.
4. Public opinion—United States. 5. United States—Ethnic
relations. 6. United States—Race relations. I. Jacobs, Donald
Trent, 1946–
E98.P99U55 2006
305.897(cid:3)073—dc22 2005035367
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This is no mere matter for the philosophy classroom. We face the possible
or probable extinction of life on our planet. If we can, we must grasp the
bias and limitation of the “West’s” worldview, powered by a hegemony
that makes us oblivious to the wisdom of the people of America’s First
Nations.
—bruce wilshire
The traditional Native People hold the key to the reversal of the processes
in Western Civilization which hold the promise of unimaginable future
suffering and destruction.
—“a basic call to consciousness,” the haudenosaunee
address to the western world, presented to the
united nations in geneva, switzerland, autumn 1977
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To Chief Seathl’s Vision
This we know. The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the
earth. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Whatever
happens to the beasts soon happens to man. If men spit upon the ground,
they spit upon themselves. All things are connected like the blood that
unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it.
—chief seattle’s statement of 1854,
edited by professor ted perry
And
In memory of Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005). May his courage, spirit,
and wisdom be remembered, and may his belief that we can and must
unlearn the language of conquest—for the sake of all our futures—be
realized in time.
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contents
editor’s note on chief seathl’s speech xii
acknowledgments xiv
prologue: red road, red lake—red flag! 1

by Four Arrows
introduction 18

by Four Arrows
29
Chapter 1
happiness and indigenous wisdom
in the history of the americas

by Frank Bracho
45
Chapter 2
adventures in denial: ideological resistance
to the idea that the iroquois helped
shape american democracy

by Bruce E. Johansen
66
Chapter 3
burning down the house: laura ingalls
wilder and american colonialism

by Waziyatawin Angela Cavender Wilson
81
Chapter 4
(post) colonial plainsongs: toward
native literary worldings

by Jodi A. Byrd
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