Brad; thanks, very thoughtful. I especially appreciate the Native Lands Map and I shared that with my Colonial Latin American History wife who is working on uncovering the history of the enslavement of indigenous people throughout our hemisphere. Cheers, Preston
Love this. I find the willingness to know and talk about this history is quite subjective to area. Most of my extended family, whom I love, are in Texas battling the ice and burst pipes and power outages now. But among them I’ve had the experience of bringing up ancestors coming over “when Tx was still Mexico” and getting convicted denial that the land they occupy could have ever have been MX. Of course, disagreement is solved by a quick google search. It makes me wonder though if a fairly substandard geography and history education is essential for perpetuating nationalistic ideals.
I recently watched Ken Burns documentary series The West. I had always thought of America’s expansion West as an idyllic thirst for more independence. I hadn’t grasped the scale of slaughter and exploitation - first to Native Americans and second to the American Bison - required in satisfying that thirst. My sense of pioneering pride was replaced with the shame of greed. Where we are collectively in our relationship with natural resources and climate control has deep roots and like a colony of Aspen, if the roots of one tree are infected it spreads to the whole.
The Lone Star Is in a Frozen State
Brad; thanks, very thoughtful. I especially appreciate the Native Lands Map and I shared that with my Colonial Latin American History wife who is working on uncovering the history of the enslavement of indigenous people throughout our hemisphere. Cheers, Preston
Love this. I find the willingness to know and talk about this history is quite subjective to area. Most of my extended family, whom I love, are in Texas battling the ice and burst pipes and power outages now. But among them I’ve had the experience of bringing up ancestors coming over “when Tx was still Mexico” and getting convicted denial that the land they occupy could have ever have been MX. Of course, disagreement is solved by a quick google search. It makes me wonder though if a fairly substandard geography and history education is essential for perpetuating nationalistic ideals.
I recently watched Ken Burns documentary series The West. I had always thought of America’s expansion West as an idyllic thirst for more independence. I hadn’t grasped the scale of slaughter and exploitation - first to Native Americans and second to the American Bison - required in satisfying that thirst. My sense of pioneering pride was replaced with the shame of greed. Where we are collectively in our relationship with natural resources and climate control has deep roots and like a colony of Aspen, if the roots of one tree are infected it spreads to the whole.
Thanks for your reflections Brad.