06-16-2011, 08:19 PM
poliss Wrote:Surely, even in 1895, they had noticed the native Americans?
Yes, of course poliss, but I suspect you're responding from today's sensibilities. In 1895 the prevailing American viewpoint was that the Native Americans were savages rightly conquered by more advanced and righteous European Americans. The massacre at Wounded Knee, for example, was only five years earlier in 1890. Despite the presence of well established tribes of indigenous peoples, America was "discovered" by Columbus because the history was written by the victors. In recent decades we've been open to examining the complex reality that recognizes the seamanship of Columbus' journey (along with his appalling treatment of Native populations) but also acknowledges and celebrates the diverse Native Cultures that were here centuries before the Santa Maria crested the horizon.
Ralph