EU-8

ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDING 8: SUBJECTIVE HISTORY

History is a story most often related through the subjective experience of the teller. With the inclusion of more and varied voices, histories are being rediscovered and revised. History told from an Indian perspective frequently conflicts with the stories mainstream historians tell.

BACKGROUND

Much of America’s history has been told from the Euro-American perspective. Only recently have American Indians begun to write about and retell history from an indigenous perspective.

A multicultural history curriculum, by focusing on the experiences of men and women of diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups in United States history, will provide students with a historical context in which to situate and understand the experiences and perspectives of these groups in American society today (Mehan, et. al.).

The Southern Ute Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Ignacio, Colorado, is designed to allow the public to “experience the unique history of the Ute people through their eyes.”