Rare Exceptions: Some University Professors and the Teaching of Native American History, 1900-1970

Abstract

FROM 1900 TO 1970, only eight United States historians established courses on Native American history in history departments at the college and university level. This made them rare exceptions in an academic world that placed overwhelming emphasis on mainstream Euro-American history, with extremely limited attention to race and ethnicity. Except to a small degree, these professors did not introduce Indian or Native American history because of inspirational forces coming from their respective campuses. Instead, and as will be argued in this paper, they were influenced primarily by larger societal trends that surfaced offcampus.' After examining why historians did not introduce Native American history courses before 1930 this paper will look at the rare exceptions themselves and the off-campus external factors that motivated a few of them to offer Native American history at the higher education level. These contributing elements include the Meriam Report of 1928, the Indian Reform Movement of the 1920s and 1930s, the Indian claims research of the 1950s, and the political climate of the 1960s, each of which will be discussed.