What prompted you to write Voices of the American Indian Experience? What "message" do you want to
communicate? Why is this subject important?
When Jim
first approached me with this project idea, I was enthusiastic about the
opportunity to research and organize materials written by Native Americans into
an accessible resource for students and researchers. By combining familiar
materials, such as court cases and legislation, with less well-known first
person accounts and personal narratives, the reader is able to gain a much
broader understanding of the Native American experience as it evolved from
contact to today. These documents illustrate both the triumphs and tragedies
that are part and parcel to human history.
What was the highlight of
your research? In the course of your research, what discovery surprised
you the most? What surprises readers/others the most about your research?
These narratives comprise
a landscape of memories that are at once both universal and unique. Wherever
Euro-Americans were, Native Americans were, and in many ways they have
contributed, and continue to contribute, the best of their culture to ours.
They fought in the civil war, they played college basketball, they loved, they
dreamed, and above all, they fought, and continue to fight, to save their
culture, to preserve their sovereignty, and for the right to represent their
own history. This book documents the ways of life, beliefs, hopes, and dreams
that show how the American Indian adds depth to the American experience.
How did your research change
your outlook on the subject?
I think that the most
interesting part of this research was coming to appreciate the intricacies of
Native American culture and history. One thing I have learned is that they see
and understand history in a very different way from Euro-Americans, and it was
an interesting challenge to try to bridge the gap and make the work as a whole
understandable to a broad audience, while maintaining a healthy respect for the
uniqueness of the Native American historical memory.
Steven A. Littleton is a former park ranger-interpreter at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. He is currently a doctoral candidate in history of the American West at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ.
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