Interpreting the Past - Wounded Knee

AMERICAN HISTRY II

ASSIGNMENT 1

Interpreting the Past: Wounded Knee

One of the main jobs of historians is to interpret the past by reviewing primary documents, scholarly secondary sources, and then creating an analysis of this research. After reading your text and reviewing the assigned materials, submit an analysis of the Native American experience during the late 1800s. You may choose to focus on either the Wounded Knee Massacre or the creation of Native American Boarding Schools.

You might want to consider the following questions, but you are not limited to them: Is the history of Native Americans taught in American schools to the proper extent? What were the goals of white Americans/ Native Americans in these confrontations? What was the true purpose of the Ghost Dance? What was the goal of the boarding schools? How should the battle of Wounded Knee be remembered or taught? How should modern Americans view the legacy of the boarding schools?

This assignment should be at least 300 words and contain your reactions or questions about some specific issue within the historical narrative which you find compelling. For full credit, your paper must not simply sum up the reading or repeat points made there. Rather, I’m looking for you to create your own interpretation, explain the emotional content of the piece, or discuss some original insight. Include citations as needed.

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