Dr. Gregory Smithers stated in his article, Teaching Native American History in a Polarized Age that: ” the college classroom should also be a space where students can analyze the often-brutal aspects of American history. … While we as college educators should not shy away from the more uncomfortable facets of American history, we also need to introduce students to the strength of indigenous communities and the significance of native cultures and traditions surviving and thriving in our current century. … The challenges to teaching Native American history in college classrooms are broad ranging; they are cultural, institutional, and political in nature. But these challenges are not insurmountable. Indeed, a liberal education that views pedagogy as a means of engaging, intervening, and rethinking the place and roles of native people in American history constitutes an empowering educational experience for our students and cultivates a more open and democratic historical discourse. Such a broadening and deepening of our students’ historical perspectives about Native American history may indeed be closer than we think. “1
Debate Instructions:
Topic: Genocide or Harsh Invasion?: Did the actions and policies of Europeans and U.S. Americans toward Indians qualify as genocide or not?
You will support the genocide position.
