Conference

Thanksgiving... What Are We Really Thankful For? The Misconstrued History of Native Americans

Authors: Nyajuok Deng (Iowa State University) , Hassan Elahi (Iowa State University) , Mellanie Perez (Iowa State University) , Nasir Smith (Iowa State University)

Abstract

As Americans we have been socialized to understand Thanksgiving as a peaceful time that natives Americans and settlers came together in compromise; but what weren't we taught along the way? History books don't seem to portray the dark past and the genocide of the indigenous people in North America. Books and stories like Pocahontas have misconstrued the history of the Native American genocide and oppression in North America. We will also examine how TV and media have socialized us to understand Native Americans and their culture. In this presentation we will examine how our culture through books, stories and media has down-played the Native American experience in our nations history.

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How to Cite: Deng, N. , Elahi, H. , Perez, M. & Smith, N. (2013) “Thanksgiving... What Are We Really Thankful For? The Misconstrued History of Native Americans”, Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity. 14(1).