I took a group of students to Wanuskewin, a First Nations Heritage Park just north of Saskatoon, yesterday. On the way there I was visiting with a student who was sharing with me some stories about a recent trip he had taken to the UK. He began to talk about how impressed he was with Stonehenge, a trip highlight for him. He mentioned that it was so awesome to interact with something that had been around for so long. I agreed.
Later on, during our tour of Wanuskewin, I was reminded of how poor of a job we do, as teachers and a society, of selling the mystery of our own history. At Wanuskewin, for example, there are hundreds of intriguing rocks, including tipi rings and medicine wheels, that have been part of the human story for thousands of years. We literally drive by these without a thought as we travel to and from Saskatoon dreaming of visiting the UK, where, we subconsciously believe, history really happened.
I worry that this is part of a deeper disease. A disease of erasing history in the Americas so we can continue to exploit the land (and its people, who now include us, the more recent newcomers). This land includes the rocks (mining), the trees (forestry), the soil (farming), the oil and water (part of every industry). Without a history, and the subsequent mythology and magic that it constitutes, the land is a blank slate to be done with as we please. A new Eden to ruin.
I fear that this is part of our provincial and national consciousness and I have expereinced this while teaching History 20 (European History, easy to teach, students are interested), Native Studies 20 (students are somewhat intrigued by the otherness of Native people) and HIstory 30 (Canadian history, yawn). We dismiss our own history so we don't have to wrestle with the cost of the present.
Just some thoughts on my way home from Wanuskewin.
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