Facing East: An Indigenous View of Early North America

3 units

When Europeans arrived in North America in and after 1492, they were surprised to find civilizations with advanced political and military alliances, trade networks, communication systems, and artistic traditions. In fact, despite efforts to minimize these accomplishments, it was largely due to aid from indigenous persons that Europeans survived and prospered in the New World.This course looks in detail at how indigenous men and women shaped colonial North America and the early United States. Together, we will assess themes such as first encounters, trade, war and diplomacy, family formation, religion and concepts of race and difference. We also will revisit wellknown events like the 1519 Spanish landing in modern-day Mexico, the 1614 marriage of Mataoka (or Pocahontas) to an Englishman, and the American Revolution from an indigenous point-of-view. Ultimately, we will consider how indigenous Americans used both calculated assimilation and expressions of cultural independence to identify a place for themselves within the post-1492 world.