Posted by Matt on May 24, 2000 at 03:59:51:
I ran into a page that is designed to educate people about the differences in attitude and culture between Westerners and Indigenous people. It then gives timelines showing the steps and progresses that the Alaska Natives have taken to gain sovereignty, reparations, etc. It is written from the perspective of the Alaska Natives, and I disagree with some of the premises, but on the other hand it really opened my eyes to the feelings of the Natives and the rational behind various reparations. A page or two down it lists cultural differences relating to a variety of values, and then has quotes and passages written contemporaneously by European settlers and American Natives. It really shows the difference in perspective.
This page certainly does not flatter the westerners, and I certainly do not hold the perspective of the westerners depicted and quoted, but it made me understand the plight of the indigenous peoples more than anything I had read prior.
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/ane/
Matt