[CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] ♪ >> TONIGHT ON RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

>> BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN REVEAL NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING REPLACED BY VICTORIAN DRESS.

STUDENTS WERE SEVERELY PUNISHED IF THEY SPOKE THEIR LANGUAGE, PRACTICED CUSTOMS OR RELIGION.

THEY WERE GIVEN ENGLISH NAMES AND THE FIRST PART OF THE TRANSITION WAS TO CUT THEIR HAIR.

>> OUR CULTURE, OUR HAIR IS LIKE OUR LIFE'S BLOOD.

IT REPRESENT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

THIS IS WHY IT IS SO TRIGGERING.

THIS OVERT SYMBOL OF THE COMPLETE ERASURE OF YOUR INDIGENOUS HISTORY.

>> ATONING FOR ONE OF AMERICA'S ORIGINAL SINCE.

COLONIAL SETTLERS CALL IT THE GREAT SWAMP FIGHT.

AMERICANS REMEMBER IT AS THE GREAT SWAMP MASSACRE.

>> THIS IS PART OF OUR HOME.

PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, PART OF OUR HISTORY, PART OF OUR STORIES.

>> THE SCENE OF THAT TRAGEDY.

>> WE ARE WHERE WE ONCE WERE.

TAKING CARE.

WE ARE WHERE WE ONCE WERE.

>> GOOD EVENING, WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

I AM MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

PAMELA: I AM PAMELA WATTS.

OUR STORIES FOLLOW THE TRAGIC AND HIDDEN HISTORIES INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAVE ENDURED HERE IN RHODE ISLAND AND AROUND THE COUNTRY.

WE BEGIN IN THE LATE 1800S WITH A PRACTICE THAT LASTED ALMOST ONE CENTURY.

NATIVE AMERICAN CHILDREN TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND FORCED INTO INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

MANY WERE ONLY TODDLERS.

THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY THE OFTEN BRUTAL ASSIMILATION HAS RESULTED IN MULTI GENERATIONAL TRAUMA FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, SUCH AS RHODE ISLAND.

STORIES OF THE FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE JUST SOME THAT WILL NOW HAVE THE PLACE AND THE SPACE TO BE TOLD AT A NEW MUSEUM BEING BUILT IN KINGSTON.

♪ >> THE REAL GOAL WAS TO TAKE THE LAND.

IF THEY COULD NOT EXTERMINATE US THROUGH GENOCIDE AND WARFARE, THEY WERE GOING TO EXTERMINATE US THROUGH FORCED ASSIMILATION.

>> FORCED ASSIMILATION WAS PART OF A LAND GRAB TACTIC FOR EARLY SETTLERS AND AN ATTEMPT BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ERADICATE THE IDENTITY OF NATIVE AMERICANS.

IN THE LATE 1800S, LITTLE CHILDREN WERE TAKEN UP FAR AWAY FROM HOME TO INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS AND WERE ROUTINELY ABUSED.

MANY DIED OF NEGLECT AND DISEASE.

THE PRACTICE RAN FOR DECADES.

LAUREN SPEARS KNOWN AS MOCCASIN FLOWER OR LADY SLIPPER IS DIRECTOR OF THE INDIAN MEMORIAL MUSEUM, AS WELL AS A WRITER AND EDUCATOR.

>> THAT EDUCATION ON THE SURFACE SEEMS LIKE A GOOD THING.

BUT IN THE CASE OF THE BOARDING SCHOOLS, THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, THE RELIGIOUS BOARDING SCHOOLS THAT CAME BEFORE THE FEDERAL SYSTEM, THESE WERE DETRIMENTAL TO INDIGENOUS CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES.

AND IT LITERALLY, THEY WERE ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR NATIONS.

AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO TAKE THE LAND, BUT ALSO TO STRIP US OF OUR IDENTITY, CULTURE, COMMUNITIES, NATIONS.

>> IT HAS BEEN BRANDED THE HIDDEN HISTORY.

ONE THAT IS BEING ACKNOWLEDGED IN EXHIBITS SUCH AS THIS HELD RECENTLY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND.

A POIGNANT PART OF THE DISPLAY, THESE CHILD SIZED HANDCUFFS.

>> WHEN YOU SAW THESE HANDCUFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOU?

>> YOU KNOW, IT WAS VISCERAL.

TINY CHILDREN WITH THESE TINY HANDCUFFS.

AND I ALWAYS THINK OF IT LIKE THIS.

I HAVE A THREE-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON.

AND THE IDEA OF HIM BEING RIPPED FROM HIS FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AND BEING HANDCUFFED AND THAT WAY JUST IS SO EXTRAORDINARILY PAINFUL.

>> SPEARS SAYS SHE FIRST TOURED ABOUT -- HEARD ABOUT INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS THROUGH HER FAMILY.

>> I HEARD IT THROUGH OUR STORIES, ORAL HISTORIES, THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE STRUCTURES WERE STRUCTURES OF SLAVERY.

YOU CAN PRETTY IT UP WITH WORDS LIKE INDENTURED SERVITUDE, BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE TAKEN AS YOUNG CHILDREN AND NEVER RETURNED TO THEIR COMMUNITY UNTIL THEY ARE 30 OR MORE, THAT IS SLAVERY.

THEY KEPT THEM.

EVEN DURING THE LONG SUMMER MONTHS.

BY PUTTING THEM WITH WHITE FAMILIES TO ACT AS DOMESTIC HELP OR TO DO LABORING JOBS.

AND THAT WAS A WAY THAT THE BOARDING SCHOOLS ACTUALLY RAISED MONEY TO KEEP THESE KIDS HERE, SO THEY HAVE LITERALLY STOLEN YOU.

AND NOW THEY ARE FORCING YOU TO WORK IN ORDER TO KEEP STEALING YOU.

AND KEEPING YOU THERE.

>> SPEARS SAYS MANY INDIAN PARENTS WERE THREATENED IF THEY DID NOT RELINQUISH THEIR CHILDREN OR TRY TO HIDE THEM.

SOME PARENTS WHO RESISTED WERE IN WASN'T RID -- WERE IMPRISONED.

>> THINK ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU ARE A PARENT AND YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN STOLEN AND YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO PROTECT THEM.

WHAT DOES THAT DO TO YOUR HEART AND YOUR PSYCHE?

>> WANTS THEIR CHILDREN WERE TAKEN OFF THE RESERVATION, THE CULTURAL CLEANSING BEGAN.

THESE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN REVEAL THE PROCESS.

NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING WAS REPLACED BY A STARCH VICTORIAN ADDRESS.

THE STUDENTS WERE SEVERELY PUNISHED IF THEY SPOKE THEIR LANGUAGE, PRACTICED CUSTOMS OR RELIGION.

IT THEY WERE GIVEN ENGLISH NAMES.

THE FIRST PART OF THEIR TRANSITION WAS TO CUT THEIR HAIR.

>> OUR CULTURE WAYS YOUR HAIR LIKE YOUR LIFEBLOOD.

IT REPRESENTS THE PAST, PRESENT, THE FUTURE.

THIS IS WHY THIS IS SO TRIGGERING.

IT IS LIKE THIS OVERT SYMBOL OF THE COMPLETE ERASURE OF YOUR INDIGENOUS 80.

>> THIS ERASE AND REPLACE MODEL WAS FIRST STARTED IN 1879 BY RICHARD PRATT, A FORMER MILITARY OFFICER.

AMONG THE THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN WHO WERE HELD AT THE CARLISLE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL IN PENNSYLVANIA, OLD RECORDS INDICATE THERE WERE MEMBERS OF OTHER SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TRIBES.

>> ONE OF MY UNCLES, HE IS NOT MARIANNE SUB.

HE IS FROM ANOTHER TRIBAL NATION.

BUT HE WAS TAKEN.

HE AND HIS SIBLINGS, FROM THEIR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.

AND HE HAS NOT ONLY THE EMOTIONAL SCARS, BUT THE PHYSICAL SCARS TO SHOW FOR IT.

>> SPEARS SAYS THOSE SCARS HAVE MARRED THE LIVES OF NATIVE AMERICANS FOR GENERATIONS.

>> THE VIOLENCE OF THAT, THEFT OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, THE THEFT OF YOUR CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE, THE THEFT OF YOUR LANGUAGE.

AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.

AND WHEN YOU THINK OF THESE LATERAL TRAUMAS TODAY OF ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE AND POVERTY, THAT THESE ARE ALL CONNECTED.

>> THE INTERCONNECTIONS OF THE STORY AND THIS EXHIBITION ARE TOO LARGE TO DISPLAY IN THE TINY MUSEUM.

IT HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 60 YEARS AND IS CURRENTLY HOUSED IN WHAT WAS ONCE A COUNTRY CHURCH DEEP IN EXETER.

>> THE IDEA IS TO RE-INDIGENOUS AS THE LANDSCAPE IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF WAYS.

>> NOW IN KINGSTON AND DO EXTENSIVE MUSEUM COMPLEX WILL BE BUILT ON 18 ACRES OF LAND OWNED BY YOU OR I. SPEARS POINT OUT IT IS A PLACE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HOMELAND TO THAT TRIBE.

>> ALL OF THIS LAND THAT WE KNOW AS RHODE ISLAND IS OUR LAND.

WE WANTED IT TO STILL FEEL RURAL, WE WANTED IT TO BE NEAR WATER LIKE THE EPOXY RIVER AND THE BROOK.

THE CAMPUS WILL HAVE FOUR BUILDINGS, THE MAIN MUSEUM BUILDING, THE EDUCATION CENTER, THE INDIGENOUS EMPOWERMENT CENTER AND THE ARCHIVE COLLECTIONS RESEARCH CENTER, WHICH WE WILL CALL THE BELONGINGS RESEARCH CENTER.

>> SPEARS ENVISIONS GARDENS, HIKING TRAILS AND A REPLICA VILLAGE, WHERE EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO COME LEARN.

SHE SAYS EDUCATION IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS RECONCILIATION.

>> YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO CREATE EQUITY AND UNDO SOME OF THE INJUSTICE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, WE HAVE TO ALSO CREATE EQUITY THROUGH EDUCATION.

WE HAVE TO CREATE EQUITY THROUGH JOB TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.

WE HAVE TO CREATE EQUITY IN ACKNOWLEDGING AND HEALING FROM THE PAINS OF THE PAST.

>> THE LESSONS OF THE PAST HAVE NOT ALWAYS HELPED HEALED THE WOUNDS INFLICTED ON A NATIVE AMERICANS.

SPEARS SAYS THE NATION WAS THE TROUBLE LIES IN THE 1800S AND NOT RECOGNIZED UNTIL 1979.

IT WAS A SLIGHT SHE FELT EVEN AS A LITTLE GIRL.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR YOU TO BE A NARRAGANSETT IN RHODE ISLAND?

>> THERE WAS TWO THINGS HAPPENING WHEN I WAS WITH MY FAMILY AND MY COMMUNITY, THERE IS SUCH A PRIDE AND HONOR AND RESPECT TO OUR CULTUR AND OUR COMMUNITY.

AND THEN THERE WAS THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY THAT DID NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND SO WHEN I WAS IN MY FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM, I HAD A HISTORY TEXTBOOK THAT SET I DID NOT EXIST RIGHT THERE IN THE TEXTBOOK.

SO HOW DO YOU AS A FIFTH-GRADER UNDERSTAND THAT?

HOW DO YOU PROCESS THAT INFORMATION?

HOW DO YOU STAND UP FOR YOURSELF?

IN THE CLASSROOM, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT.

MY DAUGHTER IS A COLLEGE STUDENT NOW AND HER FIRST DATE OF STUDIES COURSE, THE PROFESSOR HAD THEM MAKING UP FICTIONAL TRIBES.

SO THERE IS STILL SUCH A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE READ AND PERPETUATION OF STEREOTYPES AND GENERALIZATIONS AND JUST MISINFORMATION.

>> EVEN TODAY.

>> EVEN TODAY IN THE 20 PERCENTAGE OR TEACHERS WERE TAUGHT WRONG WHEN THEY WERE IN SCHOOL AND THEY ARE REGARDED HITTING THAT MISINFORMATION AND PASSING FORWARD TO NEW GENERATIONS.

MOST OF THE TIME, ONLY TALKING ABOUT IT IN THE MYTHOLOGICAL SENSE OF THE QUOTE UNQUOTE FIRST THANKSGIVING AS THEIR WAY OF BRINGING UP INDIGENOUS 80 IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.

>> SPEARS HOPES THE NEW MUSEUMS WILL HELP EDUCATE THE EDUCATORS.

>> GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH PROFESSORS AND REALLY BUILD THEIR KNOWLEDGE AROUND LOCAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY AND CULTURE AND THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF THAT.

IT ALSO GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH STUDENTS, SO THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY GO FORWARD IN THIS NEXT GENERATION IS NOT AS MISINFORMED AS THE LAST SEVERAL GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN.

>> SPEARS BELIEVES THIS BUT THE LOSS OF FAMILY AND FREEDOM DURING THE TIME OF INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS, SOME NATIVE AMERICANS STILL FLOURISHED BY USING THEIR EDUCATION AND THE SKILLS THEY LEARNED THERE.

FOR EXAMPLE, FORMER FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE NARRAGANSETT'S, PRINCESS REDWING WHO WAS SENT TO A QUAKER SCHOOL.

>> SHE WAS AN EDUCATOR AND ADVOCATE HER WHOLE LIFE.

AND A CULTURE BEARER IN PASSING FORTH TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE.

SO SHE WAS ABLE TO -- AS MANY PEOPLE THAT WEAR IF YOU WILL SUBJUGATD UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF BOARDING SCHOOLS IN ONE WAY WAS ABLE TO THEN TAKE THAT KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZE THAT TO SUPPORT INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES, INCLUDING SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS OF THE UNITED NATIONS.

>> SPEARS SAYS THE NEW MUSEUM WILL BETTER PRESERVE THE MUSEUM -- THE CULTURE OF NARRAGANSETT'S INCLUDING A FLUENT LANGUAGE.

>> IS BEING REVIVED TODAY IN GREETINGS, STORYTELLING AND PRAYER.

>> IT TRANSLATES IN PART " TODAY, CREATOR WE COME TO YOU WITH A QUIET HEART AND GIVE THANKS FOR OUR BELOVED RELATIONS.

WE GIVE THANKS FOR THOSE THAT PERSEVERED AND SURVIVED, SO THAT WE COULD BE HERE TODAY."

>> LONG BEFORE INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS TOOK ROOT IN AMERICA, RHODE ISLAND WAS THE SCENE OF A WELL INJUSTICE TO INDIGENOUS AMERICANS.

350 YEARS AGO, COLONIAL SETTLERS CARRIED OUT A BRUTAL RAID ON A NARRAGANSETT INDIAN VILLAGE FILLED WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

IT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE GREAT SWAMP MASSACRE.

IN A STORY WE FIRST BROUGHT YOU IN DECEMBER, CONTRIBUTE IN REPORTER DAVID WRIGHT WAS THERE AS THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY SOUGHT TO MAKE AMENDS FOR THE ATROCITY.

IT IS A CEREMONY YOU WILL ONLY SEE HERE ON RHODE ISLAND BS WEEK.

LY.

DAVID: AND THE GREAT SWAMP IN RHODE ISLAND, A CEREMONY AT 350 YEARS IN THE MAKING.

YOU'RE WITNESSING A PART OF HISTORY.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE.

JOHN BROWN, CHIEF MEDICINE MAN FOR THE NARRAGANSETT INDIANS, FIRST PURIFIES THE CIRCLE FORMED BY THIS SMALL GATHERING OF PEOPLE.

THEN, HE AND THE TRIBAL CHIEF KINDLE A FLAME TO THE NARRAGANSETT, THE GREAT SWAMP IS SACRED GRAND -- GROUND BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPEN HERE IN 1675.

>> A LOT OF INDIANS LOST THEIR LIVES HERE.

NANCY KANSAS, A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM.

DAVID: THIS CEREMONY MARKED A CHANCE TO MAKE AMENDS.

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAS TRANSFERRING THE LAND BACK TO THE TRIBE.

MORGAN IS THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

>> THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST PROFOUND AND HUMBLING MOMENTS OF MY LIFE.

AND I AM SO HONORED TO STAND WITH ALL OF YOU TODAY.

TO SEE ALL OF YOU HERE IN THE SACRED SPACE AND TO SAY IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE THAT I AM PROUD TO STAND HERE ON NARRAGANSETT LAND.

>> I WALKED DOWN THIS ROAD FOR AT LEAST -- IN MEMORY, AT LEAST 69 OF MY 74 YEARS.

AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN DOWN HERE WITH A HEART AS EXUBERANT AS IT IS BEATING.

I CANNOT STOP IT.

DAVID: EVERY AMERICAN IS THE STORY OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING.

HOW THE PILGRIMS LANDED IN PLYMOUTH IN 16 20'S AND THE FOLLOWING AUTUMN, SHARED A HARVEST FEAST WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS WHO HELPED THEM SURVIVE THAT FIRST YEAR.

LESS WELL-KNOWN IS THE STORY OF THE GREAT SWAMP MASSACRE OF 1675 ONE OF AMERICA'S ORIGINAL SINS.

>> BIG ON MYTHOLOGY IN THIS COUNTRY, AREN'T WE?

AND WE ROMANTICIZE THE PAST, BUT THERE IS A BLOODY TRUTH THERE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO CONFRONT.

>> VERY MUCH SO.

I THINK THAT WE CANNOT FULLY APPRECIATE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE GOOD THINGS WITHOUT PROPERLY UNDERSTANDING THE MAGNITUDE OF THE BAD.

DAVID: AT THE BAD IN THIS CASE HAPPENED DURING WHAT AMERICAN HISTORY BOOKS RECORD AS KING PHILIP'S WAR.

>> THIS IS A VERY TENSE TIME, AS MORE ENGLISH KEEP COMING.

AND KING PHILIP'S WAR BECOMES THIS POINT OF NO RETURN IN TERMS OF RELATIONS.

DAVID: ULTIMATELY, KING PHILIP'S WAR WAS A CONFLICT OVER LAND.

I HAVE READ TAT KING PHILIP'S WAR IS PER CAPITA OF THE BLOODIEST WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

IS THAT TRUE?

>> IT SEEMS TO BE, YES.

DAVID: IT IS CALLED KING PHILIP'S WAR, KING PHILIP WAS A NATIVE AMERICAN.

THAT WAS HIS ENGLISH NAME.

HE WAS THE SON OF?

SO HE IS THE SON OF THE TRIBAL LEADER WHO ATTENDED THE FIRST THANKSGIVING?

>> YES.

DAVID: ONE GENERATION.

THE MAYFLOWER HAD 130 PEOPLE ON BOARD INCLUDING PASSENGERS AND CREW.

FIVE DECADES LETTER, THE NUMBER OF COLONIAL SETTLERS IN NEW ENGLAND HAD GROWN TO MORE THAN 50,000.

SPREAD OUT OVER MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, AND WHAT IS NOW MAINE ONLY ONE PROBLEM WITH THAT ACCORDING TO CHIEF MEDICINE MAN JOHN BROWN.

IT SOUNDS GOOD AND NOBLE TO TALK ABOUT A CITY ON A HILL.

BUT WHEN YOU ARE BUILDING IT ON SOME DEALS LAND, THAT IS A PROBLEM.

>> YES.

THEY MADE THE VERY PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE LOOK LIKE THE ENEMY AND LOOK LIKE THE ONE THAT WERE IN THE WRONG DIVINING THEIR HOME.

DAVID: AS THE SETTLEMENT GREW SO DID THE CONFLICT BETWEEN COLONISTS AND NATIVES.

BOTH SIDES COMMITTED ATROCITIES.

WHO WERE THE AGGRESSORS?

>> IT WAS THE UNITED COLONIAL FORCES.

DAVID: THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, THE PLYMOUTH BAY COLONY.

>> CONNECTICUT AND NEW HAVEN.

DAVID: AT THE START OF KING FOR -- KING PHILIP'S WAR, THE COLONY WAS NEUTRAL, SO WERE THE NARRAGANSETT INDIANS.

BUT THEY ALLOWED COLONIAL TROOPS IN CONNECTICUT TO MARCH THROUGH AND THE NARRAGANSETT TOOK IN REFUGEES FROM NEIGHBORING TRIBES INVOLVED IN THE FIGHT.

AS MANY AS 3000 PEOPLE, INCLUDING WOMEN, CHILDREN AND ELDERLY, WHERE HOLED UP FOR THE WINTER IN A NARRAGANSETT FORT IN THE GREAT SWAMP.

>> THIS WAS A VILLAGE FILLED WITH NONCOMBATANTS.

DAVID: BUT THEY WERE ATTACKED ANYWAY.

>> THEY WERE.

DAVID: ON DECEMBER 1670 5,000 TROOPS ATTACKED THE FORTIFIED VILLAGE IN THE GREAT SWAMP TURNING IT DOWN AND DESTROYING THEIR WINTER SUPPLIES.

IN RETALIATION FOR THE SWAMP MASSACRE, THE NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS WENT ON THE OFFENSIVE, SETTING FIRE TO COLONIAL TOWNS AND VILLAGES, INCLUDING PROVIDENCE, WHICH THEN WAS JUST A SMALL COLLECTION OF HOUSES AROUND WHAT TODAY IS ROGER IT WAS THE GREATEST CALAMITY AND COLONIAL AMERICAN HISTORY.

BUT IN THE END, THE COLONISTS PREVAILED.

KING PHILIP FACING LIKELY DEFEAT , RETREATED TO HIS ANCESTRAL HOMELAND IN MOUNT HOPE, WHERE THE COLONISTS CORNERED AND KILLED HIM.

>> INDIGENOUS HISTORY HAVE LOOKED AT THIS WAR AS PIVOTAL IN TERMS OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS AND COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS AND THEN THE AMERICAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

DAVID: IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE WORK ON THE COLONISTS DONE THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN DUTCH INDIGENOUS AMERICANS TO FORCED LABOR.

OTHERS BECAME INDENTURED SERVANTS HERE IN RHODE ISLAND.

THE NARRAGANSETT, WANTS THE LARGEST NEW ENGLAND TRIBE, WERE ALL BUT WIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE.

>> THEY CAME HERE TO ERASE THE PEOPLE FROM THIS LAND.

THEY CAME HERE TO COLONIZE AND WHEN YOU COLONIZE A PLACE, THAT MEANS YOU REMOVE THE INDIGENOUS SPECIES, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE.

AND YOU SUPPLANT THAT WITH YOUR OWN SPECIES.

DAVID: THE FAMILY WHO OWNED THIS LAND FOR GENERATIONS RECOGNIZED ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND WANTED TO SEE IT PRESERVED.

SO A CENTURY AGO, THEY GAVE IT TO THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

>> IN 1906 WHEN WE WERE GIVEN THIS LAND, THERE WAS NOT A NARRAGANSETT INDIAN TRIBE AS AN ENTITY.

TO GIVE IT TO.

DAVID: WENT THAT CHANGE?

>> THAT CHANGED IN THE 1980'S BECAUSE THE TRIBE AFTER A VERY LONG LEGAL BATTLE, WAS ABLE TO GAIN A TRIBAL RECOGNITION.

DAVID: THE COMPLICATED LEGAL PROCESS OF GIVING BACK THE LAND TO YEARS.

READING A VERY OLD WRONG.

-- WRITING A VERY OLD WRONG.

>> YES.

WE ARE THE ROLLED ISLAND THAT'S RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY CURED WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF PROTECTING AND SHARING OUR PAST, BUT NOTHING IN OUR VISION SAYS WE NEED TO OWN IT ALL.

>> A LONG TIME COMING.

>> YES.

IT IS NOW INCUMBENT ON THE NARRAGANSETT INDIAN PEOPLE TO SHOW A MODICUM OF CHARACTER AND CAPABILITY.

AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WE WILL DO THAT.

BECAUSE THERE IS ONE THING ABOUT A NARRAGANSETT, WE GIVE YOU OUR WORD, WE GIVE IT TO YOU.

DAVID: THIS CEREMONY MARKED THE FINAL HANDOVER.

NOW, THE SCENE OF THAT MASSACRE IS NARRAGANSETT LAND ONCE AGAIN.

>> MANY, MANY, MANY HUNDREDS OF BEINGS STILL WALK HERE AND THEY A FEW ALLOW THEM THE MOMENT, WILL EITHER TOUCH UPON YOU WITH A BREEZE OR WITH A STRANGE FEELING OR MAYBE A GOOSE BUMP, OR MAYBE JUST A SMILE FROM IN HERE.

THIS MEANS THAT -- I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS.

WE ARE WHERE WE ONCE WERE.

TAKING CARE.

WE ARE WHERE WE ONCE WERE.

PAMELA: OUR THANKS TO DAVID READ FOR THAT REPORT.

NEXT IN OUR CONTINUING SERIES KIDS WANT TO KNOW, STUDENTS FROM WEST HIGH SCHOOL ASK JULIET BOOKER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT BROWN UNIVERSITY, WHITE INDIGENOUS AMERICAN HISTORY IS OFTEN EXCLUDED FROM TEXTBOOKS.

>> HI, MY NAME IS ETHAN BRINSON.

WHY DO YOU THINK THE TEACHINGS OF NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY BEGIN WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPEANS RATHER THAN THE INDIGENOUS AMERICANS AND HOW THEY LIVED IN EARLY NORTH AMERICA?

>> THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING IT.

I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE DO NOT BEGIN BY TELLING THE HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND INSTEAD FOCUS ON WHAT HAPPENS AFTER EUROPEAN ARRIVAL IS THAT IT WOULD CHANGE THE WAY WE HAVE TO STUDY AND TELL THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES' FOUNDING AND ITS SUBSEQUENT HISTORY.

IF WE FOCUS ON THE HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ON THE FACT THAT THERE WERE THRIVING SOCIETIES BEFORE EUROPEAN ARRIVAL THAT WERE THEN DECIMATED AND WERE DISPOSSESSED OF THEIR LAND TO MAKE ROOM FOR SETTLERS, YOU WOULD HAVE TO READ OUR NATIONAL MYTHS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

SO INSTEAD OF THANKSGIVING BEING THIS MOMENT OF FRIENDLY ENCOUNTER WHEN THE NATIVE AMERICANS SAVED THE PILGRIMS, WE WOULD HAVE TO REMEMBER IT AS MANY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DO AS A NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING THAT LEAD TO DISPOSSESSION, LOSS OF LANGUAGE, LOSS OF LAND, DEATHS AND ENSLAVEMENT ETC.

ETC.

RIGHT?

SO THIS WOULD BE A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED STORY.

AND THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT WE SEE IN CURRICULA ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

A REPORT BY THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS IN 2019 FOUND 87% OF STATES DO NOT INCLUDE THE TEACHING OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY AFTER 1900 IN THEIR STATE STANDARDS.

AND 20 SOMETHING ODD STATES DO NOT INCLUDE ANY NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY IN THEIR CURRICULA.

>> HI I AM MORGANJA.

WHAT STEPS COULD HELP IN AMERICAN HISTORY BE ADDED TO THE CURRICULUM IN THE UNITED STATES?

>> THIS IS AN IMPORT QUESTION.

I THINK THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE.

ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS PRODUCING CURRICULA THAT TEACHERS CAN USE TO INTEGRATE INDIGENOUS HISTORY INTO THEIR LESSON PLANS.

AND THESE HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BY THE SMITHSONIAN AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS.

STATES CAN ALSO REQUIRE THAT INDIGENOUS HISTORY BE TODD IN -- AS PART OF THEIR STATE STANDARDS, CAN BE TAUGHT.

THIS IS BEING DONE IN PLACES LIKE WASHINGTON WHICH REQUIRES NOT ONLY THAT INDIGENOUS HISTORY BE TAUGHT, BUT THAT IT BE DONE WITH THE INVOLVEMENT OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES.

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF WE ARE TELLING THIS HISTORY, WE WANT THIS HISTORY TO BE TOLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, THEMSELVES.

AND FINALLY, THIS BEGS ME TO SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE CAN DO, WHICH IS TO ACTUALLY BRING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE INTO THE CLASSROOM.

IN A PLACE LIKE RHODE ISLAND, YOU COULD BRING IN SOMEBODY FROM THE NARRAGANSETT TRIBE TO COME IN AND TALK ABOUT THEIR HISTORY, TO TALK ABOUT THEIR CULTURE.

AND TO TALK ABOUT HOW THEY CONTINUE TO LIVE AND FIND WAYS TO THRIVE IN THE MIDST OF THE HISTORIES OF DISPOSSESSION, GENOCIDE ETC.

THAT THEY HAVE FACED.

SO I THINK THERE IS A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE TO BRING INDIGENOUS HISTORY INTO THE TEACHING OF U.S. HISTORY AND MAKING IT AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT CURRICULUM.

MICHELLE: OUR THANKS TO PROFESSOR HOOKER AND THE STUDENTS FROM WEST WARWICK HIGH SCHOOL.

RHODE ISLAND PBS WILL PRESENT ON MONDAY A SPECIAL CALLED SPARKED.

IT FOLLOWS SIX INNOVATORS AS THEY PRESENT THEIR IDEAS TO TAKE ON SOCIAL ISSUES.

INCLUDING HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOP PROGRAMS TO BRING HOPE AND CHANGE TO RHODE ISLAND COMMUNITIES.

>> NOW MORE THAN EVER, WE LOOK TO ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAILBLAZERS TO TACKLE SOCIAL ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SIX INNOVATORS WILL PRESENT THEIR IDEAS TO A PANEL OF JUDGES FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A SHARE OF $90,000 IN SEED FUNDING.

FUNDING THAT COULD HELP TRANSFORM THESE BOLD IDEAS INTO A REALITY.

THIS IS SPARKED.

♪ MICHELLE: SPARKED WILL READ HERE ON RHODE ISLAND PBS ON FEBRUARY 7 AT 9 P.M.. AND THAT IS A BROADCAST FOR THIS EVENING.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I AM MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

PAMELA: I'M HIM A WHILE WATTS.

WE'LL BE BACK NEXT -- I AM PAMELA WATTS.

WE WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER ADDITION OF RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

♪ [CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY.

VISIT NCICAP.ORG]