For our 2020 Common Read we chose Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States, along with the accompanying version adapted for younger readers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we had to reschedule our Common Read discussion. Now it is important as ever to come together to learn and process our thoughts and feelings about this complicated history:
- Colonization and settlement of Indigenous lands and expansion of the United States
- Indigenous resistance to colonization and current efforts to assert sovereignty
- Actions our Unitarian Universalist faith requires of us, now and in preparation for General Assembly in Providence, meeting on the lands of the Wampanoag.
Members and friends are invited to explore these topics in a Zoom discussion over three sessions:
Tuesday, April 7: The Shaping of the Story
- Role of “covenant”
- American exceptionalism
- Terminal narratives of colonization
Tuesday, April 21: Land
- Pre-colonial indigenous civilizations
- Role of Jefferson and Jackson
- Manifest destiny and extravagant violence
- Allotments and settlers freedom to acquire
Tuesday, May 5: Resistance and Reclamation
- Resistance to boarding schools
- Multiculturalism and assimilation
- Indigenous rights and climate justice
While it is helpful to have read some or all of one version the book (a recorded version is also available on the Audible app), all are welcome to join the discussion on this topic of importance for UUs in our times.
To join by phone, dial +1 646 558 8656
Meeting ID: 304 124 115