“Reading two texts or historical moments side by side, we can see how what was taking place at one moment was complicated” and “ justice can be done and undone at the same time.”²

Learning Intention

Studying events in context not only makes them clearer, it provides important backdrops that help prevent oversimplification of complicated issues. This activity uses contrapuntal reading¹ to “analyze historical texts and moments” to understand the complexities of social justice. The book Toward What Justice? includes a list of samples texts/videos and further questions for reflection.

Overview¹

Identify the treaties or other practices of land theft used to settle the area you’re currently teaching in. Have students discuss:

• What was promised in the Treaty?
• What was the context and conditions when this was signed?
• How does the Treaty view the relationship between the state and Indigenous people?
• Are there accounts of what Indigenous people understood the Treaty to mean?

Then, using contrapuntal reading,1 have students examine any federal laws that passed at the same time as many treaties in the United States and discuss the following questions:

• What is different about the way the federal act/law views the relationship between the federal government and Indigenous people?
• How can the ideas, promises, and concepts used in the Treaty take place under the regulations and limits of federal laws? What is made possible, and what is made impossible?
• What can looking at these simultaneous events in the same moment teach us about what justice was sought, what might have ended up being recuperated by the state, or about how victory and backlash can take place together?

Reflection Questions¹

• What other documents/historical moments could we pair to learn more about a particular moment where justice is sought, and the backlash endured after?
• What moments in history have similar versions of this pattern; attempting to achieve justice or fairness on the one hand, and state legislation to recuperate or resecure white supremacy on the other?

References

1. Said, E.W. (1993). Culture and imperialism. London: Vintage.
2. Tuck, E. & Yang, K.W. (eds.) (2018). Toward What Justice? Describing Diverse Dreams of Justice in Education. New York: Routledge.