Digitized Honors Theses (2002-2017)

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Degree Name

BS

Department

Anthropology

Faculty Mentor

Philip J. Carr, Ph.D.

Advisor(s)

Martha Jane Brazy, Ph.D., Mark A. Moberg, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study is an evaluation of a sample of Alabama history textbooks published throughout the past sixty years. Its purpose is to identify the manner in which Native Americans are portrayed and to expose biases using methods influenced by the work published by previous textbook evaluators (Henry 1970; Loewen 2007; Pratt and McDiarmid 1971). A sample of fourth and ninth grade textbooks beginning in the 1950s was selected for this project. The textbooks were selected based on their availability (most of them were found in the University of South Alabama Library) and year published. The final sample represent a variety of authors and publishers; the complete list of textbooks initially examined for inclusion in this study can be found in Table 1. Arguably, Native Americans are the most misunderstood ethnic group in the United States. Most people do not know a Native American nor have they visited a reservation, so they lack information from direct experience. Instead, most of the information on Native Americans derives from popular culture which has homogenized the diversity of the various cultures into a Plains Indian stereotype (Young 2002). On the other hand, exposure to local Native American cultures comes at least once in the classroom, usually for two to three weeks, in a fourth or ninth grade history class. While student learning concerning America's first inhabitants ultimately derives from the teacher, their main tool is the textbook assigned by state school boards. Unfortunately, biases held by members of the school board through textbook choice and held by teachers based on their prior experiences and education greatly impact student learning.

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