While teaching the History of Early Native North America, I am occasionally surprised that certain aspects of Native American history and the history of Early America and the United States are new for students. Numerous times throughout the course I asked students if they ever learned about any of this before? From the Native slave…
As detailed in a previous blogpost, “What does Native American History teach us about Early America and the United States?” every Wednesday in our History of Early Native North America class students evaluate primary sources that center Native Americans. The purpose of these primary source workshops is trifold. First, I want to introduce students to…
As teachers of the American History survey know—whether it ends in 1848, 1860, 1865, or 1877—the United States did not exist for the majority of the time period our courses cover. Therefore, I decided to teach the course as the history of Early Native North America, 1500–1848.
