American Encounters :: essays research papers

Who Speaks The Voice Of HistoryThe facts of history in the eyes of Americans bear been viewed in many lights. The Smithsonian exhibit entitled, &8220American Encounters is no exception. This multimedia exhibit focuses on American Indians, Hispanics and Anglo-Americans in New Mexico. Although the exhibit contains many noteworthy facts close to the culture and lifestyle of the Indians, in my opinion, many other aspects of Native American history were left in the shadows. The Smithsonian did not clearly illuminate the struggle and subjugation which the Indians endured during the European settlement. This obscured information raises the issue of which historical facts are selected as notable. E.H. Carr, an historian, explains this argument with a very prominent quote from the first chapter of his book What is History. The quote states, &8220The facts treat only when the historian calls on them it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor and in what order or context (Carr 9) .As stated above, Carr believes that &8220facts only speak when the historian calls on them. . . (Carr 9). In the &8220American Encounters exhibit, the facts concerning Indian tribulation and European domination could not be heard. By all means I believe that their situation was more than than just an encounter. From the controversy on the memorial tablet, one could interpret that the Europeans were given the land, or that the Europeans established forts, trading posts, and colonies to live as one with the Indeginous peoples however, that was not the case.Consequently, Carr&8217s statement holds true. The authors of the exhibit choose how to present this portion of history. They decide in what context to display the facts. Obviously the authors feel that a blurb on the wall is rich to express years of struggle and strife. If visitors to the Smithsonian had no previous knowledge about the conflict between Native Americans and the Spaniards, does this excerpt explain the real situ ation? From this plaque I am taught nothing of the hardships that the Natives endured. I do not learn that thousands of Indigenous lives were taken at the hands of the Spaniards simply to acquire land that wasn&8217t theirs. I do not learn that families and tribes were broken up in order to teach the Europeans how to survive. To my dismay no artifacts, pictures or any other fibre of visual display told this side of the story. It is the responsibility of the authors of this exhibit to accurately convey the facts and clearly elaborate on them.