Summary Of Charlene Teters Whose History Do We Celebrate

In “Charlene Teters (Spokane) Asks ‘Whose History Do We Celebrate?’ 1998” the main author is Charlene Teters. The authors main purpose in writing this article is to raise awareness on the lack of education of Native American history and gives examples from his past. The article is written in the being of the year 1998 and is dated due to the anonymous letter being quoted at the beginning. The events taken place in New Mexico is what brought Charlene Teters attention to writing this article. Charlene Teters writes, “One of many brutal truths selectively omitted from most history books is this: in 1599, Oñate attacked Acoma Pueblo in retaliation for the death of his nephew, ordering that the right feet of all men in the pueblo above the age of 25 be chopped off” (492). There is no surprise once a

The manner in which it is presented has the ability to inspire or deflate, to move nations to love, joy, anger, or hatred” (Teters 492). He also explains that this country knows nothing about the history of the Native American people nor any ethnic group that was indigenous before colonization. He uses examples from his public education, “I remember trying to become invisible as teachers told stories of brave settlers, untamed lands, and savage, uncivilized Indians. Washington State history simply did not include American Indian history” (Teters 492). This shows that schools are white-washing history and are not teaching what really happened. In his eyes, they are still teaching their ideology of colonization and oppressing the Native American people. This ideology also reflects in the words they use to dehumanize Native American people. He then states, “All across the United States, bronze statues, monuments, and murals celebrate conquests and commemorate the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny” (Teters 493). This statement reflects his main purpose and builds off it; it confirms the ignorance of the Native American people and their