Perspective of Indians in 1887

So today, 10/27/15, in the U.S. History classroom, we decided to take another look at Indians. This time though, we used an online textbook from 1887 and read a few pages from it. We were also told to find some reliable definitions for two words...

savage- fierce, ferocious, cruel, and untamed

savagery- an uncivilized or barbaric state or condition

At first, we were supposed to just read pages 18-21. After reading this, Indians seem to be majestic and honorable. Of all the things I've ever read about Indians this was definitely the most positive. Then we were told to search for the word savages and read the blurbs that popped up. These blurbs, from the same text, had an entirely different view on Indians. We were then told to talk about how this textbook would've shaped our view on Indians if we were studying during that time. Before I read the blurbs I would've said these men (and women) were people of great character and that we should've just left them alone. After reading the blurbs I still stick with that statement. The whites came in and took over something that rightfully belonged to the Indians and they did nothing to deserve the hatred and the fighting that came with the invasion of the whites.

A Letter Home

Hello,

I hope things are going well. Today is the twelfth of February 1876 and I just received my copy of the Las Vegas Gazette. Apparently the city has been very busy lately. A new bar and billiard room has opened up next to the hotel that is now connecting. My friend, Mr. Rousseau, has finally opened up shop as an attorney and counselor and even got an add on the front page today! The paper mainly contained adds today however there was an update on the Unjust Economy. The article states that the government is not to blame for any attacks on the white settlers by the indians. The article claims that this is not fair to those who chose to settle in New Mexico however I feel that that statement is unfair. The settlers knew what to expect and they had the choice of where to settle. Thus, I do not feel the government should have to pay for the damages made by the natives. We are finally getting a shipment of seeds from Europe just in time to plant. The only downside is we have a limited supply and I'm not sure how long it will last. The city bakery was advertising their shop today. It's located in between first and second street in the city. There have been discoveries of new mining areas not too far from here. I think the closest is in Soccoro. Wood has become the target of interest lately due to all the snow. Most people think that it is hot out here but according to the paper, "the weather for the past week has been blustery and disagreeable." This barely covers everything the paper had to say today. Like I said, it contains mostly adds and promotions but there was quite a bit of captivating information. Hoping everything is well on your end. Please write soon. I miss hearing from you.

Sending you my best,
Your Loving Wife

http://www.truewestmagazine.com/blowing-in-the-wind/

*** this is written to show the point of view and attitudes from someone living in this time period ***

Social Media: The Truth Exposed

Our use of social media is selective and intentional so that we tend to remain interested in only things we've already been interested in, whereas newspapers expose readers to information on a broad range of topics. This can connect communities by providing information about what others may be interested in. It may raise questions I never thought to ask.

Newspapers Over Time

Today, not many people actually look at the news paper for news. I mean, why would we when we can get the summed up version at any time that's convenient for us? But what was a newspaper like for people before the age of technology? To them, a newspaper was "a publication issued at a regular and usually close intervals, especially daily or weekly, and commonly containing news, comment, features, and advertising." Newspapers were first seen in Europe in the 17th century. To be more specific, 1609 in Wolfenbüttel. In the United States, some of the first newspapers included The Boston News-Letter, Publick Occurrences, and The American. In an issue of the New York Times published on October 13, 2015, the leading headline was "Dell to Buy EMC for $67 Billion". Other headlines included promotions in big companies or to fairly famous people, discussion of the problems in Libya, and updates on the current political standings. Have you ever wondered what it means to be the "newspaper of record"? Yeah, so have I. I just thought it meant the paper was noteworthy and held the highest publishing/selling rate. I was wrong.... According to Wikipedia, "A newspaper of record is a major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and typically authoritative. A newspaper of record may also be a publicly available newspaper that has been authorized or maintained by a government to publish public or legal notices, and therefore serves as a "newspaper of public record"." The nation's first newspaper of record was The New York Times deemed this title in 1913 and believed to have been given the title by librarians. A second paper that could be considered a newspaper of record is the Los Angeles Times. The difference in looking at an actual newspaper versus the internet it simple; one you know is real and the other can be questionable. Online, anyone has access to the information meaning anyone can change the facts, thus, the true story is never known. In the paper, the facts come straight from the sources and right into the machines. Even though the information can be changed overtime it is more reliable than what we read online. We also tend to only see what the social media sources want us to see when we read the news online. They want to grab the public's attention and thus they direct the news are certain groups of people whether its gender, age, or race. This often results in the omission of key facts and parts of the truth only to make the story more engaging. In the paper, everything is there for us. We have the option to pick and chose what parts we read but nothing has been omitted. Also, the newspaper actually makes people have a conversation. Online there's always that comment section allowing people to speak freely without having to use their actual name. People need to have that face to face interaction from time to time because, without it, we lose a piece of our humanity. 

http://gov20class.blogspot.com/2015/09/newspapers-versus-cnncomnytimescom.html

Fast Facts: Native Americans

As we wrapped up first quarter in the U.S. History classroom we were given a challenge: research on a topic that interests you about Native Americans for less than an hour and then write a quick summary about it. We could pick any topic from stereotypes, to car names, to controversy, to culture, to fashion. Anything we wanted but we had to show where we got our information from and write a blog that was worthy of a grade because, what's not to love about another easy A in the grade book to give your average that extra boost.

I decided I would pick a few tribes and compare their differences and similarities. Turns out there are at least 526 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. and many more that we have yet to find. I went to Mrs. Lawson with my findings and she suggested I pick two vastly different tribes and go from there. I decided I wanted to pick a western tribe (since we just completed a unit on the west) and then I would pick a region completely opposite of that. I found out that there are several hundred tribes in Alaska and I don't know how much opposite of the west than that. For my tribe of the west I chose to get the scoop on the Dakota Indians. I ended up picking an Alaskan tribe known as the Inupiaq (Inuit) tribe. Below I have made a chart that compares and contrasts the two tribes based on the research I have completed.

   

dakota tribe

inuit family

Sources used:
http://thenativeamericanlife.weebly.com/sioux.html
http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes/indians_101.pdf
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republic-of/Inuit.html
http://www.native-languages.org/alaska.htm
http://www.ducksters.com/history/native_americans/inuit_peoples.php
http://www.bigorrin.org/dakota_kids.htm 

First Quarter Reflection

Wow! I cannot believe the end of first quarter is already here! It literally feels like we just started back… So far this year I have definitely been put to the test of seeing what I know versus what all I have left to learn. This was especially true during my U.S. History class. 

Coming into this year I didn’t know too much about America’s past. I knew we had fought in some major wars and the we had a history of slavery and that we originated from England and were discovered by Christopher Columbus but other than that, I knew nothing. Now, after just eight short weeks, I could tell you all about our nation’s past from the time of the civil war to the western expansion. 

I think the biggest take away for me from this quarter is that I have the skills it takes to form a good paper or blog post but that I just have to trust myself and write the truth. When we were first told we would be keeping up with a blog throughout the year, I’m not gonna lie, I was terrified. History is typically my worst subject and english is not far behind so I could tell this was going to be tough. Our first assignment was to make a blog and then write a post about the differences between empathy and sympathy. I was heading out of town to go on a hunting trip with my dad the next day so I had Mrs. Lawson read my post before I left. Needless to say she was very pleased. We were also working in pairs at that time and so I was able to compare mine with my partners and see. After I clicked publish post I felt a big sense of pride. I think it was one of very few written assignments I was truly happy with. Next, we went on to learn how to properly add a quote to our blog and how to add pictures and then lastly we learned how to paraphrase a source and then incorporate it into our writing. We have done a little work with this in the past but I never fully understood it but after giving it another shot, it wasn’t too bad. All of these things led up to our major essay on how it was actually possible to learn from movies. 

Going forward this year I really want to work on going more in depth with how I view things. I feel like I often miss the true meaning of something because I’m too focused on the obvious. I know I am going to get plenty of chances to improve this skill in the coming months so I’m not too concerned but it would be nice. I plan on accomplishing this by doing extra research outside of the classroom and by taking the information given to me in class and finding other ways and perspectives of looking at it.