The Blackout of Native American Cultural Achievements

Mr. Bellow overlooked one of more obvious marks of native influence on Illinois: a few million acres of corn. Some historians have been little more observant than fiction writer. One in this century remarked that the aboriginal inhabitants of our part of this continent failed to appreciate and exploit richest gifts that nature ever bestowed on any land (Chitwood 1931: 19). These are not isolated examples of blind spot in eyes of many writers. It is easy to collect a bagful of such quotes, some of which postdate renewed interest in Native Americans which was generated by activities of sixties and seventies. There has been only modest improvement since Dr. Harlow Brooks wrote in 1933: Perhaps as a class we less appreciate history and archaeology of our Native Americans than those of any other people (Brooks 1933: 2). Aside from more obvious achievements of Indians in agriculture and medicine, their more subtle influence on attitudes, customs, politics and like is little noticed. Those accustomed to histories of conquerors, complained lawyer Felix Cohen more than thirty years ago, will hardly be convinced, though example be piled on example, that American democracy, freedom and tolerance are more American than European and have deep aboriginal roots in our land (Cohen 1952: 185). In nineteenth century reaction to discovery of vast mounds in Ohio and Mississippi valleys was that they must have been work of some super-race which preceded Indians. Even in this century there was once a debate as to whether corn was a native American creation (Collins 1921: 503-506).