Primary source discussion-American history

Image: Frances Densmore and Mountain Chief (1916) (AYP, Chapter 17, sec. VIII)

The image I chose for this assignment is the Frances Densmore and Mountain Chief image taken in 1916, located in Chapter 17, Section VIII (Locke & Wright, 2019). One of the most tragic American history events involved the colonization of North America, whereby there was extensive genocide of Native Americans. Among other things, this genocide comprised violent massacres, disease, starvation strategies, enforced displacement, and policies intended to erase their culture. This is where Frances Densmore comes in; she was an ethnographer and musicologist who dedicated herself to the preservation of cultural practices, particularly those of Indigenous people. She is popularly known for having worked with the leader of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Mountain Chief, and together they recorded Native American language and music. The Frances Densmore and Mountain Chief image was taken during one of the recordings, where these two individuals would come together to record stories, songs, and linguistic nuances of the Blackfoot community.

These recordings were crucial because, as mentioned, America was trying to erase the culture of Native Americans through several tactics. One of these tactics was forced assimilation of the community by banning the practice of traditional cultural practices and enforcing American education on their children through mandatory boarding school attendance. Notably, these practices lasted from the 1790s to the 1920s. These recordings remain one of the earliest and most important attempts to capture and preserve Native America’s language and music on phonographic cylinders, the only form of audio technology of the time. This image is not only important in showing a historical key moment, but it also underscores the struggles, challenges, and sensitivities involved in the preservation of Native cultures, including the desperation to preserve themselves because the country was determined to wipe them off completely.

References

Locke, J., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2019). The American Yawp: A massively collaborative open U.S. history textbook. Stanford University Press. https://www.americanyawp.com/

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Textbook link:

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FIRST: choose ONE document or image from the list of Primary Source sections located at the bottom of chapters 17 to 19 on the American Yawp eBook.

SECOND: Explain why the document or image you chose is important to examine, say what it refers to or what topics it touches on.

If it is an image, say who is in the picture, what is going on or any other important detail.

Look for things such as: is there an author, a date, etc.

THIRD: Indicate what chapter is the Primary Source located at in the American Yawp ebook.

Primary source discussion-American history

RUBRIC

1. Choose an image or document from chapters 16 to 19 of the American Yawp
2. Read/Study the image or document so you explain what it is about
3. Explain how the image or document helps us understand a topic, issue or theme it refers to
4. List a reference to where in the American Yawp is the image or document found, like this (AYP, chapter 18, sec. 3).