Today, Eric Cheyfitz discussed the history of the American Indians during the Becker-Rose Cafe Hour. Over the course of his talk he mentioned many pieces of legislature, such as the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, whose names sounded familiar but whose content I had trouble recalling from my American History classes in High School when we briefly covered it. Indeed, when Professor Cheyfitz asked the audience who had previously learned any of the information that he was recounting to us now, a startling few number of people raised their hands. If our generation does not have the knowledge or awareness of both the history and modern day plight of the American Indians, how can we ever hope to help solve their problems (that we created)?

It seems as though the loosing battle that the Native Americans fought against the Westerners is proof of the idea that the winners write the history books. This is especially applicable to all of us living in Cornell, a University that is built on land stolen from the Cayuga Indians at the end of the 1700s. Although you cannot change what has already happened, there is still an active role that we can take to improve the situation now and for future. This can be as simple as becoming more educated about the six different Indian nations of our region of the country. Why is this so important? Because culture and tradition are part of what make up the identity of a group of people and by preserving these things we are helping to keep the Native American culture alive. Moreover, by actively learning we embrace the potential of discovering information related to healing and nature that can be applicable for the greater good. And finally, knowledge has the power to create a greater understanding and acceptance of an amazing people!