In the classrooms of Middle School History teachers Toussaint Lacoste and Erika Carlson, GDS 7th graders are exploring history from the perspective of indigenous communities.
Toussaint and Erika emphasize the importance of experiencing points of view that differ from those of the dominant cultures throughout the history and social science curriculum, aligning with the GDS mission to better understand and collaborate across differences. Part of it is a question of allyship, explained Toussaint, “Because when you talk about speaking out for social justice, it's not just from the group that's being impacted, persecuted, oppressed, but it's also, ‘Do you see how your voice can help amplify others?’”
Erika and Toussaint refer to this mini-unit as an independent investigation, in which students view historical events such as Columbus’s “discovery of America” (what was actually the Bahamas, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic) in a new light. Rather than focusing on the historical perspective of “Columbus came and saw,” they want their students to view the historical event through the lens of the indigenous people who had inhabited that land for thousands of years: what did they see when Columbus arrived; what was their experience?
“It is important that we look at the term discovery and what it really means. And then, more importantly, what does it mean to be in a situation of power and privilege to be able to write these stories?” said Toussaint.
“We've been calling Columbus Day, “Columbus Day” for a really long time, “said Alecia Levy ’30, “And Columbus wasn't the first person to be on that land.”
Now in its second year, the overarching question within the independent investigation unit on indigenous communities is what did the societies look like before and after colonization. Students are looking at the impact of colonization and how it changed and shifted not only the indigenous groups, but also the Europeans, discussing the transition of culture, food, people, and language in both directions.
“It's important that we understand history from the indigenous peoples perspective, so we can understand what it was like before colonizers came and how they affected the land and the people there,” said Ella McKenzie ’30.
The independent investigation is part of a greater unit of study within the history and social science curriculum that asks some very big questions of the students: How do we effectively end injustice? What makes society stable and resilient? What motivates individuals or groups to make change? How can people with different beliefs or experiences work together to achieve a goal? And what social issues should we be paying attention to now and in the next six years? Erika explained that the focus on six years is not arbitrary–it’s the length of time from now until this year’s 7th graders graduate from high school. The point is to see the current repercussions of colonialism as well as the historic ones. “A lot of indigenous people are on the front lines around issues like climate change,” she said. “Indigenous people are still here. Their environments are. Colonization is ongoing.”
Further tying these historic issues to current events, Erika shares articles about an indigenous person or group in the news now. There's one about an indigenous soccer player, and one about indigenous languages being taught in schools. Students dig into understanding the continuation and celebration of indigenous cultures.
Toussaint believes that though the subjects can be heavy at times, acquiring new perspectives isn’t new to these GDS students; even before they reach the 7th grade, they have been given several opportunities to develop a built-in understanding of different identities and empathy and curiosity around studying other cultures.