Historical Apathy

One of my goals for this discussion was for students to feel the visceral anger that I felt when I first learned about how the U.S. government committed horrible atrocities against Indigenous children in boarding schools. The discussion began when John, a student who often participates, jumped in and argued that the U.S. government wanted to change the way Indigenous people dressed and make them dress more like white men. He said, “the quote from Document B ‘Kill the Indian, Save the Man,’ proves my point,” showing little empathy or feeling when he spoke. 

I was taken aback. While it was clear to me that John knew the history well, he did not seem to have any empathy for the students who suffered at the hands of our government. I’d wanted my students to have the same visceral reaction that I did, and yet, here was John, with zero affect, making claims about an incredibly difficult period in history. In other words, it was hard for me to be convinced that students fully grasp the detrimental impact of these policies on Indigenous people without seeing them express anger or frustration about these devastating laws. On the one hand, I was pleased to see that most students participating in the discussion understood why boarding school policies were harmful to Indigenous communities. On the other hand, I was confused, surprised, and frustrated by the lack of visible anger and frustration among students when discussing this topic. Despite giving students space and time to develop these emotions, I did not see it in any of the participants. I wasn’t sure how I could both cultivate students’ historical empathy in ways that were authentic to them, while still affirming that their enthusiastic participation in the discussion wasn’t going unnoticed.