Dr. Thomas’s lecture largely focused on information about and interactions with Native American Reservations in Montana. This was especially relevant to me, as I am actually also from Montana. I can unfortunately confirm that not much has changed in the education system concerning education about the history of Native American mistreatment. This topic was often brushed over, sugar-coated, or only mentioned in passing while focus was given instead to the minors and missionaries who built the American towns, or Lewis and Clark. As a result of this, a new generation of school graduates, including myself, are coming towards these problems with only a vague awareness of them, and to make a solid grasp on the subject we have to learn about it on our own.
I was very interested to learn about these priests who travel from India and come to work on these reservations. I had honestly never stopped to think about priests coming to America on missions. It seemed incongruous with the idea of what a “mission” is, which of course is ridiculous and part of the “America is the best” mentality that all American students are nurtured with in elementary school. It didn’t surprise me, given my initial reaction to hearing about Indian priests coming to America, that they were given the title “Imports” rather than being called what they are, “Missionaries.” These little cues, even just slight changes in a name, all perpetrate this flawed, racist concept that Christian westerners are the only ones who can “help” others (non-Christian, non-Westerners).
This lecture really demonstrated how the many various and unique Native American communities are being smashed into one collective group and systematically erased. One would hope that the days of those boarding schools aimed at “assimilation” would be antiquated by this time, but modern attitudes towards these problems show that this really is a modern issue. The rude and dismissive language used by politicians, such as at the Trump rally in Montana this summer, and the lack of media coverage on the high numbers of missing Native American women both regrettably exemplify this inattention. There is limited exposure to Native American issues in the mainstream media, and there is no major inclusion of their perspective on history in school curriculums. This lack of information raises more individuals who are entirely ignorant of these affairs, aside from a few, usually prejudiced comments thrown around.
One comment made during the Q & A session after the lecture brought up the idea of personal blind-spots, and how to find out about them and overcome them. I think I can honestly claim that this topic is one of mine. Even being raised in Montana not far from the Flathead Reservation, we never discussed Native American history in school in much depth beyond the Thanksgiving meal and Sacagawea’s role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. I am responsible for letting it slide out of my mind and not thinking about it, until this lecture brought it back to the forefront of my thought, even just for a week or so. This is a topic that I need to reflect on more, and work to reassess my childhood education’s role in dismissing it from my mind.
This response to Professor Thomas’ lecture was really interesting to read and I really appreciated you sharing your own personal perspective from also growing up in Montana. It is was really troublesome for me to attend this lecture as I shamefully didn’t know about many of these issues beforehand. Learning about the missions of these priests and the benefits they receive for them and the abuse that Native American’s receive is tragic. I really think the end of your response illuminates the problem which I also discuss in my response and that is that the educational system is failing kids by not informing them of issues such as this earlier and not properly addressing the history of Native American cultures.