As veteran readers will appreciate, I am very dismayed with
shoot-from-the-hip history--"even" or "especially" in books
aimed at child readers. After 7 years of professional training
in Early American History and 28 years of teaching it, I still
must consult and re-search a huge personal library of primary
and secondary sources, supplemented with the latest and best
Web offerings, before publishng a single word. A thorough
investigation, analysis, synthesis, and reevaluation of a wide
array of credible sources (repeatedly compared, questioned,
and rechecked) is the only way to write history with any
degree of factual accuracy. Immersing oneself in all of the
essential sources (and being able to discern good from bad)
is the core of the historical "enterprise," and I have learned
never to trust information unless I have found it, seen it, and
verified its accuracy myself. This is especially critical these
days, because all of the careful copyeditors and conscientious
critics seem to have become extinct. Was there a purge?
"Native American Culture" is a flawed conception. because
of the incredible diversity in the customs and beliefs of
indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere, then and
now. If the term is used at all, it must be pluralized.
My Rant for the Day
Fred Fausz
St. Louis
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