“Visitors shouldn’t feel confronted; they should feel welcomed,” said a spokesperson for Colleen Shogan of the National Archives when asked about being accused of censoring the exhibit.
Accountability in America seems to be a topic that is deemed confrontational, yet for most people of color, it is our history. Native people did not ask to have their land broken down, to have to walk hundreds of miles to an internment camp, their children ripped away from them to go to school, to have their language beat out of them, and so forth. The lived experiences of our ancestors seem to come off as confrontational when being highlighted in spaces reserved to highlight crucial times in history.
At Haskell Indian Nations University, the American Indian Studies department does its best to provide students with readings and projects that encourage them to observe Native history from various perspectives. As a part of campus, Tommaney Library’s mission statement is “…to provide a culturally informed space for the discovery, collaboration, and creation of information and ideas.”
“We’re known for our tribal materials made by non-native people, but we want to change it so that we’re featuring tribal materials made by tribal people,” Carrie Cornelius, Head Librarian of Tommaney Library, said.
Throughout this shared discussion of concerns with whitewashing national exhibits, there was a shared feeling of how it is indirectly harmful to leave out histories to make one group feel better.
The exhibit in Washington, D.C., which the Wall Street Journal claims draws in more than a million visitors annually. They had also added that Shogan ordered the removal of images of Martin Luther King, images of Minnie Spotted-Wolf, who was one of the first women to join the Marine Corps, images of Dolores Huerta, and Dorthea Lange’s photos of Japanese American incarceration camps.
The Wall Street Journal had highlighted that all these photos were “too controversial,” according to documents they found from current and former employees. These instances in history have played vital roles in many communities that have advocated for the rights of their people.
“With libraries, you [have to] pick books that you don’t like… You have to have opposing views for people to critically think,” said Cornelius. “That whitewashing is not allowing critical thinking; one person is trying to make one group feel good. I disagree… We need to keep pushing for that diversity and different perspectives to come out with the right ideas.”
Cornelius’s experience acting as the Head Librarian speaks volumes about how Shogan’s decision to leave out historical moments affects people of color. Shogan’s actions reflect a deep sense of guilt that oppressors often try to steer clear of when observing their histories as well as others.
As Indigenous scholars, we continue to empower each other by speaking about the lived experiences of our ancestors. We must remain genuine to ourselves by talking about who we are, where we come from, and who we come from.
