We're sharing an episode from History This Week.

May 30, 1855. Five thousand Native Americans come to Walla Walla to negotiate a treaty. However, it’s not exactly a fair negotiation—the territorial governor basically tells these tribes that they have no choice but to live on reservations in order to maintain peace. This moment comes in the wake of a violent time in the Pacific Northwest, a period started by the killing of Christian missionaries—namely, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman—by the Cayuse tribe. In the wake of their deaths, the Whitmans are portrayed throughout the United States as martyrs; the Cayuse, as a problem to be dealt with. But in reality, the backstory behind these murders is a lot more complicated. How did things go so wrong between the Cayuse and the Whitmans? And how did these missionaries’ deaths lead to a massive expansion of the United States?

What happened this week? Go to htwpod.com or find HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts.

Special thanks to Bobbie Conner, director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute; and Blaine Harden, former correspondent for the Washington Post and author of Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West.

We also consulted another great book putting this episode together, Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre and Its Shifting Legacy in the American West by Cassandra Tate.

We're sharing an episode from History This Week.
May 30, 1855. Five thousand Native Americans come to Walla Walla to negotiate a treaty. However, it&rsquo;s not exactly a fair negotiation&mdash;the territorial governor basically tells these tribes that they have no choice but to live on reservations in order to maintain peace. This moment comes in the wake of a violent time in the Pacific Northwest, a period started by the killing of Christian missionaries&mdash;namely, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman&mdash;by the Cayuse tribe. In the wake of their deaths, the Whitmans are portrayed throughout the United States as martyrs; the Cayuse, as a problem to be dealt with. But in reality, the backstory behind these murders is a lot more complicated. How did things go so wrong between the Cayuse and the Whitmans? And how did these missionaries&rsquo; deaths lead to a massive expansion of the United States?
What happened this week? Go to <a href="http://htwpod.com/" data-airgap-id="11">htwpod.com</a> or find HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts.
Special thanks to Bobbie Conner, director of the Tam&aacute;stslikt Cultural Institute; and Blaine Harden, former correspondent for the Washington Post and author of Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West.
We also consulted another great book putting this episode together, Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre and Its Shifting Legacy in the American West by Cassandra Tate.

From HISTORY This Week: How the Whitman Murders Redefined the American West

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2cdc4618-ca5c-4a2e-a69b-b4c901478774/transcript

We’ve all been told our founders created a democracy. Rebecca talks with Maggie Blackhawk (Ojibwe) about why that's only half the story. Because our founders also wanted an empire. And so, they built both: a democracy that gave its citizens a voice and a vote; and an empire that controlled the lives and lands of people who had no say. That playbook never went away. Today, when our government wants to annex Greenland, deny citizenship to people born here, or put migrants in detention camps, it uses laws first passed to colonize Indigenous nations to do so.

Resources:

- July 31, join First America, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, Red Media, and the Lindy Waters III Foundation for an evening celebrating Indigenous futurism, storytelling, and the release of "From the Heart of Our Nations"

- Get "From the Heart of Our Nations," a collection of short stories from First America's Indigenous youth writing workshop, here

- Dig further into Maggie Blackhawk's scholarship here

We&rsquo;ve all been told our founders created a democracy. Rebecca talks with Maggie Blackhawk (Ojibwe) about why that's only half the story. Because our founders also wanted an empire. And so, they built both: a democracy that gave its citizens a voice and a vote; and an empire that controlled the lives and lands of people who had no say. That playbook never went away. Today, when our government wants to annex Greenland, deny citizenship to people born here, or put migrants in detention camps, it uses laws first passed to colonize Indigenous nations to do so. Resources:
-&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tulsaartistfellowship.org/calendar/from-the-heart-of-our-nations-book-release">July 31,</a> join First America, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, Red Media, and the Lindy Waters III Foundation for an evening celebrating Indigenous futurism, storytelling, and the release of "From the Heart of Our Nations"
- Get "From the Heart of Our Nations," a collection of short stories from First America's Indigenous youth writing workshop, <a href="https://magiccitybooks.com/item/K0Zhw2y_vbPFomRaxQLM8A">here</a>
- Dig further into Maggie Blackhawk's scholarship <a href="https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.publications&amp;personid=56076">here</a>

The Origin of American Authoritarianism | Episode 6

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/81144a55-a31b-40d0-b8d1-b494000f4a92/transcript

Did you know that foreclosure was invented as a way to take Native land? Free, Indigenous land once built the American dream. But the mechanisms our government used to take it are now robbing everybody. With the help of Nick Estes (Lakota), Michael Blaakman and K-Sue Park, Rebecca tells the story of how our founding fathers used Indigenous land to bail out the early republic. And how their decisions planted the seeds for our current housing crisis.

Resources: 
- Speculation Nation by Michael Blaakman
- "Money, Mortgages, and the Conquest of America" by K-Sue Park

Did you know that foreclosure was invented as a way to take Native land? Free, Indigenous land once built the American dream. But the mechanisms our government used to take it are now robbing everybody. With the help of Nick Estes (Lakota), Michael Blaakman and K-Sue Park, Rebecca tells the story of how our founding fathers used Indigenous land to bail out the early republic. And how their decisions planted the seeds for our current housing crisis. Resources: - <a href="https://www.pennpress.org/9781512824483/speculation-nation/">Speculation Nation</a> by Michael Blaakman - "<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lsi.12222">Money, Mortgages, and the Conquest of America</a>" by K-Sue Park

Land, Not Liberty | Episode 5

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bfc1e5f6-03ca-4db3-aaaa-b48a015678ad/transcript

After America won the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was disbanded. After the abuses of British soldiers, the founding fathers didn’t want a big standing army. That small, disorganized military then went off to fight Indigenous nations and lost. Rebecca talks with George Ironstack (Myaamia) about how a 15-year war with the Myaamia Nation forever changed both countries. In the United States, it is why we have a standing army, why it is so big, why the president can fight undeclared wars, and why our country can never seem to end them.

Resources: 
- Myaamia Center

After America won the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was disbanded. After the abuses of British soldiers, the founding fathers didn&rsquo;t want a big standing army. That small, disorganized military then went off to fight Indigenous nations and lost. Rebecca talks with George Ironstack (Myaamia) about how a 15-year war with the Myaamia Nation forever changed both countries. In the United States, it is why we have a standing army, why it is so big, why the president can fight undeclared wars, and why our country can never seem to end them. Resources: - <a href="https://miamioh.edu/centers-institutes/myaamia-center/">Myaamia Center</a>

Military Might | Episode 4

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4bea6662-31ef-493b-b1b1-b47f0107253d/transcript

The American Revolution wasn’t just a fight for liberty. It was also a sprawling conflict with Indigenous nations over who would control the continent of North America. And to stake out their claim, the United States was willing to commit genocide. Rebecca talks to Maggie Blackhawk (Ojibwe) about how our country’s early treatment of Native Americans is the root of authoritarianism in the United States.

Resources: 
- Jeffrey Ostler, "“To Extirpate the Indians”: An Indigenous Consciousness of Genocide in the Ohio Valley and Lower Great Lakes, 1750s–1810," The William and Mary Quarterly, by Thurman Wilkins

- Rhiannon Koehler "Hostile Nations: Quantifying the Destruction of the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide of 1779," American Indian Quarterly, 2018

The American Revolution wasn&rsquo;t just a fight for liberty. It was also a sprawling conflict with Indigenous nations over who would control the continent of North America. And to stake out their claim, the United States was willing to commit genocide. Rebecca talks to Maggie Blackhawk (Ojibwe) about how our country&rsquo;s early treatment of Native Americans is the root of authoritarianism in the United States. Resources: - Jeffrey Ostler, "<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.72.4.0587?seq=1&amp;cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents%20%20-%20Cherokee%20Tragedy:%20The%20Ridge%20Family%20and%20the%20Decimation%20of%20a%20People,">&ldquo;To Extirpate the Indians&rdquo;: An Indigenous Consciousness of Genocide in the Ohio Valley and Lower Great Lakes, 1750s&ndash;1810</a>," The William and Mary Quarterly, by Thurman Wilkins
- Rhiannon Koehler "<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328753755_Hostile_Nations_Quantifying_the_Destruction_of_the_Sullivan-Clinton_Genocide_of_1779">Hostile Nations: Quantifying the Destruction of the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide of 1779</a>," American Indian Quarterly, 2018

It Happened Here | Episode 3

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4d21d702-e93e-4a20-893f-b4630129e0de/transcript

Did you know that when colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor they dressed up like Native Americans? Rebecca goes to Boston with historian Phil Deloria (Dakota descent) to try and understand Americans’ obsession with playing Indian. In the early republic, pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and helped the colonists form a new, national identity. From boyscouts, to new agers, to sports fans, the American tradition of white people dressing up like Natives never went away. 

Resources: 
- Phil Deloria's book Playing Indian is a fantastic resource on this subject
- Not In Our Honor is working to change the name of Kansas City's football team

Did you know that when colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor they dressed up like Native Americans? Rebecca goes to Boston with historian Phil Deloria (Dakota descent) to try and understand Americans&rsquo; obsession with playing Indian. In the early republic, pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and helped the colonists form a new, national identity. From boyscouts, to new agers, to sports fans, the American tradition of white people dressing up like Natives never went away. Resources: - Phil Deloria's book <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300264845/playing-indian/">Playing Indian</a> is a fantastic resource on this subject - <a href="https://notinourhonor.com/">Not In Our Honor</a> is working to change the name of Kansas City's football team

Playing Indian | Episode 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8d224d4e-7db0-4a8d-bbcc-b463011f0379/transcript

Welcome to First America: the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for Pushkin+ subscribers.

Welcome to First America: the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+ subscribers</a>.

Welcome to First America 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e07103cc-ea9e-417b-8459-b46000ea8b1f/transcript

We’ve all been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. According to our founders, in their own words, what they were most upset about was Native Americans. How did we all miss that? Rebecca sits down with historian Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) to talk about how hunger for Indigenous land drove the Revolution. Welcome to First America, the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment was 250 years in the making. 

Resources: 
- Dig into more of Ned Blackhawk's scholarship here

We&rsquo;ve all been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. According to our founders, in their own words, what they were most upset about was Native Americans. How did we all miss that? Rebecca sits down with historian Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) to talk about how hunger for Indigenous land drove the Revolution. Welcome to First America, the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment was 250 years in the making. Resources: - Dig into more of Ned Blackhawk's scholarship <a href="https://history.yale.edu/people/ned-blackhawk">here</a>

Merciless Indian Savages | Episode 1

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7f8db974-91b6-4b87-b8a5-b4630118e212/transcript

The This Land team is back with a new show! Stay tuned for First America, the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for Pushkin+ subscribers.

The This Land team is back with a new show! Stay tuned for First America, the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin">Pushkin+</a> subscribers.

This Land is Now First America 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f5bfd95f-86b3-4edd-a6f8-b45e00e64109/transcript

The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.

From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.

Follow Empire City wherever you get your podcasts and listen to the second episode, available now. You can listen ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.Follow Empire City wherever you get your podcasts and listen to the second episode, available now. You can listen ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

Introducing Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c90872e5-b98d-49aa-aa36-b449012ba335/transcript

Native people have been written out of the American story, but without us you don’t know what happened. This summer the United States will celebrate the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. When you read the Declaration, you realize it is a list of complaints. The last entry, the climax in our founders’ reasons for rebellion against the Crown, is this: “He has excited… the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

We have been told the Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But what the founders were most angry about in our country’s most famous document was Indian affairs. How did generations of Americans miss this?

The first armed rebellion against the Crown was an attack on British forts that traded with tribes. When colonists threw tea into the Boston harbor, they dressed up like members of the Mohawk tribe—not for disguise, but because pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and rebellion. The founding fathers’ first government failed because Indigenous nations were too powerful; war and diplomacy with Native people is why we have a central federal government.

Hosted and reported by Rebecca Nagle and  featuring leading Native historians,  First America unveils  how the founders’ treatment of Indigenous nations—and their resistance—shaped US democracy. The show  does not simply add another blemish to the image of the founding fathers, it reveals the real story of why the colonists rebelled, what kind of government they created, and, crucially, how our current political moment was 250 years in the making.

Native people have been written out of the American story, but without us you don&rsquo;t know what happened. This summer the United States will celebrate the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. When you read the Declaration, you realize it is a list of complaints. The last entry, the climax in our founders&rsquo; reasons for rebellion against the Crown, is this: &ldquo;He has excited&hellip; the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.&rdquo;
We have been told the Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But what the founders were most angry about in our country&rsquo;s most famous document was Indian affairs. How did generations of Americans miss this?
The first armed rebellion against the Crown was an attack on British forts that traded with tribes. When colonists threw tea into the Boston harbor, they dressed up like members of the Mohawk tribe&mdash;not for disguise, but because pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and rebellion. The founding fathers&rsquo; first government failed because Indigenous nations were too powerful; war and diplomacy with Native people is why we have a central federal government.
Hosted and reported by Rebecca Nagle and&nbsp; featuring leading Native historians,&nbsp; First America unveils&nbsp; how the founders&rsquo; treatment of Indigenous nations&mdash;and their resistance&mdash;shaped US democracy. The show&nbsp; does not simply add another blemish to the image of the founding fathers, it reveals the real story of why the colonists rebelled, what kind of government they created, and, crucially, how our current political moment was 250 years in the making.

First America

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