The Politics of Monuments and Native American History

Guest: Farina King, PhD, Assistant Professor, History, Northeastern State University and member of the Navajo Nation Monuments of all sorts are a focal point for debate in America today: whether it’s Confederate War memorials, statues of conquering explorers like Columbus or natural landscapes like the Bears Ears National Monument President Trump recently scaled back significantly.  A monument is really about us saying “this is a place, a memory, a culture, a history we want to preserve.” But given the diversity of views and complexity of America’s history, is it any wonder we’re having trouble agreeing on our monuments? Let’s have a look at this from the perspective of America’s indigenous communities.