In today’s politically charged climate, nothing stirs the pot quite like the revisionist history being peddled by the liberal elite in academia. These radical professors aim to sanitize the complexities of history, painting selective narratives that cater to their progressive agendas. Case in point, the portrayal of Native American history. Instead of presenting these cultures with their multifaceted legacies, the woke crowd has been busy creating the myth of the eternally peaceful and noble savage, erasing any mention of violence.
While it’s convenient for some to blame every cultural ill on European settlers, this narrative does a disservice to historical accuracy and truth. Certain progressive thinkers even argue that grievous practices like scalping were innovations brought by Europeans, thereby depicting Native Americans as mere victims manipulated by external forces. However, evidence from both historic accounts and archaeological findings suggest otherwise. Scalping and other violent rituals were indeed deeply rooted in indigenous traditions, long before European contact.
The reality, inconvenient as it may be for some, is that acts of violence, including mutilation of enemies, were part of the spiritual and cultural fabric of numerous tribes. These practices were not mere barbarity but intended to humiliate and prevent enemies from reaching the afterlife, denying them any spiritual peace. Such traditions are well-documented, with gruesome customs such as the pounding of soldiers’ faces with mallets, slashing arms, splitting noses, and slitting throats marking tribal warfare.
Historical accounts are replete with incidents like the Crow Creek Massacre and the aftermath of battles such as Little Bighorn, where evidence of violent rituals presents a clear, albeit brutal picture. For example, the southern Cheyenne were known for their mutilation practices, while the Arapaho and Sioux tribes had their own methods of dealing with foes. This narrative is not about casting blame but understanding a fuller picture of history, where human societies, indigenous or otherwise, had their share of darkness.
It’s time the academic establishment acknowledged these historical complexities instead of cherry-picking facts to fit modern political agendas. It’s through acknowledging these truths, uncomfortable as they may be, that we carve a path towards honest historical reflection. This isn’t about villainizing cultures but refusing to oversimplify them into guilt-ridden fairy tales cooked up in the ivory towers. History, after all, is messy. And no amount of revisionist magic can or should change that.
