Colonization in Education

1. Introduction
The version of colonization in the Americas that is taught in our secondary school History
classes is the simplified version. Students are taught that Europeans came over after Columbus
discovered America, the English revolted and created the United States. Native Americans were
portrayed as violent savages, and students were led to believe that Europeans were superior in
intelligence, diplomacy, technology, and religion until the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
forced diversity in education. Now, little is taught about the Native Americans and their
encounters with Europeans. As educators, it is important that we provide our students the facts
about how we came to be; in the interest of providing students with this truthful, diverse, and
complete education, students should be learning about colonization through primary and
secondary sources from all perspectives, not just European. In A Brief Account of the
Destruction, Bartolome de las Casas gives us a glimpse into how violent the Spanish were in
colonizing the Caribbean and conveys the general nave perception of natives; Camilla
Townsends Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma disputes the myths that surround
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Tribe created by conflicting stories from various sources; and
Daniel Richters Facing East from Indian Country gives us an inside look at the lives of the
Native American culture, including how intelligent and innovative they actually were, and how
contact with Europeans changed their world. These three texts offer a non-Euro-centric view
of colonization that should be included in colonization curriculum.
1. A Brief Account of the Destruction

Spanish colonization in the Caribbean and South America is largely glossed over in
secondary education. Aside from the mention of a few of the famous conquistadors like Hernan
Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, and the landing of Christopher Columbus, not much of this history
is covered. Students should know that the English were not the first or only people to
aggressively colonize the Americas. Bartolome de las Casas details the death and destruction of
the native peoples at the hands of the Spanish in A Brief Account of the Destruction. This book is
not wholly appropriate for the classroom, considering some of the graphic depictions, but
excerpts should be used to demonstrate the brutality with which these regions were conquered
and the general thoughts about the natives that justified these actions. Excerpts such as the
following would be valuable in establishing not only the general attitude, but also the magnitude,
of Spanish colonization:
Now this infinite multitude of Men are by the Creation of God innocently simple,
altogether void of and averse to all manner of Craft, Subtlety and Malice, and most Obedient
and Loyal Subjects to their Native Sovereigns;
The Spaniards first assaulted the innocent Sheep, so qualified by the Almighty, for the
space of Forty Years, after their first landing, but the Massacre of these Wretches, whom they
have so inhumanely and barbarously butcher'd and harass'd with several kinds of Torments,
never before known, or heard (of which you shall have some account in the following
Discourse) that of Three Millions of Persons, which lived in Hispaniola itself, there is at
present but the inconsiderable remnant of scarce Three Hundred... (de las Casas 3)
The passage clearly conveys the Spanish opinion of the natives and the brutality that was so
common to the colonization process without going into graphic detail that might be objectionable
to parents.

2. Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma

Early in their lives, children are provided with a romanticized and idealized story of
Pocahontas and her encounters with the English. Camilla Townsend mentions the mythical
Pocahontas and her inspiration for many twentieth-century producers of toys, films, and
books in the Preface of her book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma (xi). Disneys
Pocahontas is the best example of this. The movie depicts a whirlwind romance between
Pocahontas and John Smith that ended with Smith saving Chief Powhatan and everybody living
happily ever after as friends. Children accept this version as fact, and little information given to
students to contradict the tale because John Smiths later tales of his exploits in the New World
are the subject of study in education. Townsend asserts that Smiths tales are likely fiction;
overinflated stories written to make money on the heels of Pocahontas fame in London (52).
Fiction and legend have Pocahontas falling in love with Smith and converting to Christianity
because of her love of Smith and the English. It is important for students to learn that this is not
the case. To paint a complete the picture of the English and their attitudes toward the Powhatan,
students need to learn that Pocahontas was kidnapped by the English to be used as a bargaining
chip for confiscated weapons and prisoners (104-106) and only converted to Christianity to save
her family and tribe (126). Townsend is able to provide insight into the life Pocahontas and her
encounters with the English colonists at Jamestown, the true nature of her involvement with John
Smith, and the reality of her life among the English.
Many history textbooks provide the English version of events in Jamestown colony,
including the diplomatic measures between the Powhatan and the English. Students should know
that our history could be very different. Townsend illustrates this in her book. She points out that
the first colonists struggled to survive; ravaged by illness and nearly starved to death, colonists

barely survived the first winter in Jamestown (50). Powhatan was fully aware that the English
were unable to provide for themselves when he provided them with food for survival (60).
Powhatan could have easily let the settlers die of starvation, or attacked those that had not been
killed by disease. Doing so could have possibly frightened off future settlers, changing the course
of history. Townsend is able to convey this through her logical deductions from the limited
sources in her research.
3. Facing East from Indian Country
Since history education is lacking in information on the Native Americans, Daniel Richters
book Facing East from Indian Country would be an excellent secondary source in the classroom.
The book provides a look into the life of Native Americans and how contact with the Europeans
change their lives. Students should know that contact with the Europeans was not a blessing for
the Natives, as history textbook might have them believe. Richter provides a detailed account of
the Native American experience with the Europeans. At first, European contact brought new
tools and technologies that promoted positive trade experiences between the cultures. European
desires for furs made it easy for the Native Americans to obtain the new tools that made their
day-to-day lives easier (44). However, the large scale hunting of beaver created regional
extinctions (53), creating a domino effect on the ecosystem that left the Natives lacking in game
food sources (53). Richter goes on to describe Native American agricultural innovations and the
process in which the English destroyed these processes. Native practices of scattering food crops
were thwarted by the English fencing off plots of land for themselves. In addition, colonists
allowed their farm animals to roam freely, destroying any crops on lands that were not fenced
(55-59). Despite the ongoing destruction of the Natives way of life, Richter maintains that the
people continued to seek a peaceful coexistence with the Europeans, even though Europeans

were focused on the destruction of the Native American population (252-253). These
descriptions would help students to understand how Europeans were able to gain a significant
advantage against the Native Americans, even when the Europeans were outnumbered.
4. Conclusion
The National Council for the Social Studies states:
The aim of social studies is the promotion of civic competencethe knowledge,
intellectual processes, and democratic dispositions required of students to be active and
engaged participants in public life Civic competence rests on this commitment to
democratic values, and requires the abilities to use knowledge about ones community,
nation, and world (National Council for the Social Studies)
If this is true, then it is even more important for our students to learn the history of our country
from factual information instead of legend and myth. Students have to be given accurate history
in order for them to form the democratic dispositions; they need read about the tragedy and
senseless violence so that they can make better decisions in the future.
The school system today is diverse and aims to teach its curriculum in a multi-cultural
atmosphere. The underlying lesson is tolerance and understanding. One of the best ways to
achieve this goal of tolerance and understanding is to teach the lesson from every perspective
possible; from primary sources and quality secondary sources. Even small excerpts from de las
Casas, Townsend, and Richter can provide the multicultural framework for lessons that would
otherwise be dominated by Euro-centric accounts of colonization in the Americas.

Bibliography
de las Casas, Bartolome. A Brief Account of the Destruction. 1552.

National Council for the Social Studies. "National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies:
Introduction." 17 September 2010. NCSS. 2 October 2014.

Richter, Daniel K. Facing East from Indian Country: A Native history of Early America.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.

Townsend, Camilla. Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004.