PROJECT, WE KNOW OUR LAND IS VALUABLE, DECEMBER 2017
We Know Our Land Is Valuable: The United States Through the Lens of Native Peoples
"The white people think we do not know their value; but we know that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon worn out and gone.”
-Canassatego, circa 1740
The Story of Our Map:
The United States is founded upon land with a history that dates back tens of thousands of years and currently includes more than 323 million experiences and histories. “Every human being is a rain drop,” said the Lakota activist and poet, John Trudell.
This semester, one of the questions we considered was who and what is hidden by the conventional maps and history classes. We wanted to answer the question: If the United States was literally and figuratively transparent, what histories and experiences might we find?
Our project, “We Know Our Land is Valuable” presents U.S. History through the lens and experience of Native peoples. It is composed of student constructed 12 x 12 inch shadow boxes designed in a manner that honors the Native peoples of the region and the vision and creativity of the members of our 16 teams.
Our map is meant to be interactive. In this way, we honor what we learned of historical empiricism and built a map that creates an experience and, we hope, shares our knowledge.
Finally, the coming together of these sixteen squares reminds us of our individual importance and the importance of togetherness and the power of unity, for, just as John Trudell taught us: “...when enough of the raindrops become clear and coherent they then become the power of the storm.”
"The white people think we do not know their value; but we know that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon worn out and gone.”
-Canassatego, circa 1740
The Story of Our Map:
The United States is founded upon land with a history that dates back tens of thousands of years and currently includes more than 323 million experiences and histories. “Every human being is a rain drop,” said the Lakota activist and poet, John Trudell.
This semester, one of the questions we considered was who and what is hidden by the conventional maps and history classes. We wanted to answer the question: If the United States was literally and figuratively transparent, what histories and experiences might we find?
Our project, “We Know Our Land is Valuable” presents U.S. History through the lens and experience of Native peoples. It is composed of student constructed 12 x 12 inch shadow boxes designed in a manner that honors the Native peoples of the region and the vision and creativity of the members of our 16 teams.
Our map is meant to be interactive. In this way, we honor what we learned of historical empiricism and built a map that creates an experience and, we hope, shares our knowledge.
Finally, the coming together of these sixteen squares reminds us of our individual importance and the importance of togetherness and the power of unity, for, just as John Trudell taught us: “...when enough of the raindrops become clear and coherent they then become the power of the storm.”