The exhibit at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center dispassionately described the alteration in the life of Native Americans before and after Colorado Indians were forcibly relocated onto reservations in Oklahoma. They were given four pounds of food per family per year: three pounds of flour and one pound of rice, maybe a little hardtack to round out the menu. The exhibit displayed representative bags of flour and rice, leaving it to us to imagine the poverty and starvation that ensued. The display included maps of the shrinking treaty lands, agreements the US kept welshing on.
The artifacts were the most interesting part of the exhibit, including the contents of tipis and the display of the total use of a buffalo. I liked the children's toys, the hoops the boys used to learn to shoot arrows; the foot-high tipis and dolls little girls used to play house--eat your heart out, Barbie! They illustrated the changes in Native lifestyle with the advent of metal pots and canvas and glass through trade between the Natives and first the trappers and then the settlers.
The museum didn't mention that any Indian refusing to relocate to the reservation had a bounty on his head; literally, any trading post or fort was empowered to pay a reward for the scalp of any Indian not on the reservation. Jesse's grandfather, a Comanche, fled to safety and work in Mexico until the murderous law was repealed. He came back to Colorado with his Mexican bride, and they quietly farmed and raised a family in the Longmont area.
Ranting about the persecution of Native people in the United States doesn't change the past, I learned in eighth grade history class (although it might persuade a teacher to change your grade). But sometimes you can't let things go.
The outrage of this exhibit was a statue of Yoda, yes Star Wars Yoda, arrayed as a Native American. I object on several counts, one of which is that in such a sad story, a caricature of Native Americans is jarring. Secondly, the inclusion of a fantasy character in an historical exhibit (and no rationale given!) undermines the validity of the artifacts. I could work up a good rant about trying to make genocide seem funny or cute. Instead, I had a quiet word with a staff member. She unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face and said she would pass on my comments.
I may have to start a letter writing campaign.