Lies My Teacher Told Me Ch 4

 Textbook authors seem to make assumptions of the first Americans. They view them as savages and primitives, so as to glorify the settlers who are said to have brought civilization to America.

 In my Anthropology class, we watched a video on field work and how so called 'civilized' white people went to research tribes that were not aware of tools, such as matches, and made their fire with sticks. The explorer commented that these people were primates because they did not use tools that was used in wherever they had come from. But, the tribes were able to create a fire despite the lack of tools, and seeing as though it works for them, I do not see the point of calling them ignorant.  Calling them primates was insulting enough, but the explorer commented that the tribe he was researching were a group of 'savages.' Yes, the tribe did seem to catch random animals and feast on the meat with their hands, and it is certainly not something I would want to see either. But what they are doing is basically the same thing. The only difference is whether it has been processed by other hands or not. If you really think about it, we  are ignorant of how to process meat so we can eat it, and most people do not know how to create a fire without a match.

 What I wrote above was a little off topic, but I think it applies to the textbook authors. They seem to think themselves superior to the Native Americans or are trying to make it look as though they are better. As Loewen says, textbooks are gradually changing their perceptions now, but it still does not change the fact that to some extent, they feel that they are superior to the Natives. As was said in the earlier chapters, every nation needs a national hero or feel good story so that they can reassure the citizens of that country that they have decent ancestors, and should be proud of it. Textbook authors may be the most patriotic people in a nation, which would explain the lack of unsettling facts from the past that may disrupt one's sense of nationalism.

 It is easy to criticize textbook authors because they seem to be keeping a lot of inconvenient truths behind the curtains. But illustrating white people as bad for having invaded the Native American society is not as simple as it seems, as Loewen has stated. There is a complex line  between good and bad, and it is hard to define them in just those two categories. What I am trying to say is that, we should not believe everything we are told, but there is no necessity to criticize every piece of information we are taught. I am no expert when it comes to history, however I'm sure that even the best of historians cannot say for sure whether one nation or tribe or society was good or bad. We need to learn to accept that there is no definite good and evil, moreover we need to stop trying to categorize facts.