Sonja Thomas and her talk on Missionary Priests from India was both insightful and compelling. My previous knowledge on missionary priests was confined to my catholic upbringing which largely focused on the bible and messages/principles conveyed through it. Before the talk had started, I read the title of her presentation: Indians on the Reservation: Missionary Priests from India and Catholic Settler Colonialism. I thought about what this presentation would focus on, either colonialism through the perspective of Indian priests or Native American Indians, taken from the use of the word reservation, and their relationship with missionary priests. I figured that this talk was going to highlight some mistreatment of Native American missionary priests, given our past history with Native American relations and reparations. I was wrong. The biggest takeaway for me was the ambiguity surrounding the true purpose of Indian priests migrating to the states to preach their religion. The fact that this was in question was ironic in my eyes. Aren’t priests of all religions supposed to uphold all of the highest principles and morals? And here we were talking about Indian Missionaries scamming the system to make money and live a better life than their previous lives back in India. Ms. Thomas focused on this topic among others and presented with a lighthearted discourse which engaged the audience and helped me to feel more interested in the topic at hand.
One of the topics that Sonja focused on was the Catholic Settler Colonialism. This topic has been extensively reviewed both in past and present settings and all point towards a unanimous understanding: it was horrible. Whether you received this history disguised through euphemisms (as I did when I was in primary school) or were taught through more accurate accounts, the resounding conclusion is that settler colonialism was ironically plagued with some of the most immoral and unethical principles in our entire history. We came to live in the US through our forefathers who killed off populations of people who were the rightful owner to the land. The inception of providing the truth about colonialism is starting to gain more prevalence in academic literature and academic curriculums which I think is an enormous step forward. Without proper context and history, it is harder to appreciate and understand where we are and how we got here. Keeping in mind that we have committed our fair share of atrocities as a nation, this allows us to move forward and apply our new perspectives to current issues of discrimination and inequality. I really enjoyed hearing Sonja speak and her topic was especially compelling. It provided a background in history that can be applied to present time. This is important when presenting because it allows the audience members, some of which could be less inclined to find this specific topic interesting, to draw parallels to contemporary time and apply the same perspective to their own social-political interests.
I think in general, we as US citizens who live and enjoy the freedoms and liberties that come with our citizenship, should be more in tune with our history and actions in the past. The point the Sonja made about the assimilation of Native American peoples is only something I know about because of a Native American history class that I took my sophomore year. Some of the things that went on during this time help to contextualize the US’s history in terms of minorities and cultures that are different from their own. It is always important to believe in your own morals and principles but this should be done with perspective and understanding of other morals and principles that may not align with your own.