Preservation of History, "Artifacts"
In “Artifacts,” Jeanette Armstrong comments on the idea that history is written by those who are privileged and successful enough to tell the stories. She specifically addresses the role that artifacts and historians/academics play in the telling of history. Armstrong points out that historians and academics approach artifacts and historical relics with a very scholastic eye. In other words, these people—who have the power to control how/what the general public thinks about artifacts—do not every consider the full story. Rather, they assess and analyze these objects through a biased historical lens, one that usually tells a history that is not entirely truthful nor accurate. As Armstrong then notes, however, the truest versions of history are often those stories that are passed down from elders—from people who lived and experienced the history that historians and academics attempt to summarize from objects. In this way, Armstrong comments on the preservation of history. For her, history is preserved through those individuals who have experienced the history firsthand. In other words, it is only through our communication with people—not artifacts—that history can truly be preserved in an accurate and truthful manner.
The Irony of “Colonization," "History Lesson"
In “History Lesson,” Armstrong tells the story of colonization from the perspective of Native Americans. She vividly describes how European settlers—led by Christopher Columbus—pillaged, ransacked, destroyed, and otherwise desecrated Native American land, life, and livelihood. She highlights that all of this destruction was justified under the word “colonization.” Though European settlers murdered Native Americans, mocked their cultured, raped women, and suppressed their freedom, they branded this takeover as “colonization.” Armstrong points out the irony in this branding, as the word “colonization” has a rather positive connotation to it—one that suggests an amicable partnership of two different peoples. And yet, as her poem points out, the European’s colonization was far from civilized. She comments on the “gifts” that settlers brought—such as Smallpox, death, and heartache. In this way, Armstrong highlights the horrible irony that surrounds the colonization of Native American peoples.
Objectification of Women
In “Indian Woman,” Jeanette Armstrong once again confronts the horrible treatment of Native American women at the hands of European settlers. She describes how male settlers objectified the so-called “Indian” women and saw them as nothing more than child-bearing, sexual objects. She emphasizes the fact that European men completely disregarded the fact that Native American women were intelligent beings, with feelings, emotions, and opinions. Armstrong also uses her poem to re-claim this objectification. Her narrator reclaims the desecration of female autonomy by commenting on how powerful women are. She specifically points out that women are the “keeper of generations.” As the narrator notes, her ability to carry and birth children is a unique, powerful, and mighty gift—one that cannot be tarnished by the European settlers. In this poem, Armstrong reclaims the rape, murder, and destruction of Native American women by pointing out their intelligence, their everlasting power, and their remarkable ability to endure. This poem highlights the horrible objection and mistreatment of Native American women during periods of European “colonization” by writing from the perspective of a Native American woman—one who is attempting to re-write and re-claim the history of Native American women.
