Native Peoples of North America

Begin by comparing the commonly held views of Native Americans to the realities of what was, and still is, a tapestry of rich and vibrant cultures. Professor Cobb explains the pitfalls that occur when history doesn't provide this crucial viewpoint, and will break down the fallacies that result from the common mistake of consigning Native Americans to the past.

Explore how the misleading dichotomy of "Old World" and "New World" has impacted perceptions of Native Americans for decades. Delve into the "Columbian Exchange," which is the crux behind the creation of "new worlds for all" and learn about the enduring ramifications these processes had in shaping everything from the fauna and flora to the cuisines of the world.

Examine the cultures that existed prior to the Spanish Invasion, the struggle for power through Hernando de Soto's entrada through the Southeast, and the Pueblo War for Independence in the Southwest. Dr. Cobb introduces the Native American worlds that were born in the aftermath of these transformative events.

Dr. Cobb demonstrates how connections were forged between Native Americans and newcomers as they incorporated each other into their worlds. In doing so, both cultures were transformed. You'll examine specific examples across the Northeastern Woodlands down to Werowocomoco to understand how the search for common ground began at first contact and still exists today.

Once Europeans arrived, the Native peoples of the Northeast were determined to maintain their autonomy, despite becoming more integrated with the newcomers. Focusing on the strategies and experiences of the Wendat and Iroquois, you'll understand how Native Americans transformed the European colonial project while preserving a measured separatism.

Through an exploration of the Iroquois Confederacy and the Lenape (or Delaware) people in the Northeast, the Great Lakes region, and the Southeast, learn how Native Americans kept or lost their lands through treaties, war, and negotiations. In many cases, the repercussions of these conflicts sometimes went beyond relocation, resulting in enslavement or near annihilation.

The French and Indian War is often portrayed in history as a crucial turning point for Native nations in the East. For some, it served as a victory, for others, a defeat. And for a greater number still it had no immediate impact on their lives. This episode will change the storyline you've heard by exploring the perspectives of Native people who experienced the era quite differently.

Examine three ways Native Americans experienced the American Revolution: as allies, as participants in their own civil wars, and as neutral parties. For many Native Americans, the resolution of the American Revolution held little meaning: There would be no liberty for them under the rule of the colonists or the Crown.

Explore how the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which settled the American Revolutionary War between England and the colonists, brought no peace to Native Americans. Programs that were instituted during this period to help Native nations become self-sufficient (such as "expansion with honor" or establishing reservations) ultimately had the opposite effect.

One of the most well-known and dramatic stories in American history is that of the Cherokee nation and the Trail of Tears. Professor Cobb reveals the story behind the story: one of two nations emerging and transforming, during which legal battles, political manipulations, and a clash between the ill-defined limits of federal and state jurisdiction and tribal sovereignty.

From John Wayne to Dances with Wolves, we are presented a very distinct view of Native Americans in the West. Professor Cobb presents a profoundly different perspective. Learn about Lewis and Clark's "discovery" of a West that was an established home for thousands people and the three factors that drove more change than anything else: guns, horses, and disease.

The Civil War is a turning point in American history, upholding the Constitutional promises of freedom for...some. Examine one of the pivotal components of the decades leading up to the Civil War: expansion into the West under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which drew non-Indians into the West and sparked innumerable conflicts with Native nations.

Delve deeper into the struggle for lands in the Plains between the 1850s and the 1870s. You'll meet the fighters you've heard of, such as Sitting Bull, as well as those you may not have heard about, such as the Hunkpapa Gall. You'll also see the negative repercussions of the 1869 completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Focusing on the Far West, Southwest, and Plateau regions, Professor Cobb examines early laws put in place in California to "control" Native Americans during the gold rush, including state funding to kill or enslave Native Americans. You'll also meet the "real" Geronimo and learn how he came to symbolize the Chiricahua Apache struggle.

Discover how Native Americans adjusted to or refused to give in to the extraordinary challenges and changes they faced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, specifically the federal government's deliberate and multifaceted effort to dismantle tribal lands and obliterate tribal cultures through allotment and assimilation.

Violence and war were not the only options. Even after the alleged "last Indian wars," Native Americans continued to fight for their rights and lands through the same legal system that had worked towards displacing them. You'll review three critical court cases, and meet leaders such as Standing Bear and Lone Wolf who continued to seek justice and defend tribal sovereignty.

Professor Cobb explores how many Native people took matters into their own hands and gained a renewed sense of place, harmony, and balance through two religious movements: The Ghost Dance (often misperceived as the last gasp of resistance before the Indians' final vanishing act) and the Peyote Road (a critically important pathway to peace, reconciliation, and belonging).

Discover how Native Americans confounded the late 19th- and early 20th-century predictions about their inevitable disappearance by getting involved in very public arenas, becoming political actors and writers, artists, and athletes. Professor Cobb examines their actions through four concepts: expectation, anomaly, the unexpected, and authenticity.

Explore Native Americans' involvement in World War I and how it changed the meaning of citizenship and sovereignty in the beginning of the 20th century. Examine why Native soldiers fought in all of the major offensives after America's entry into the war, defending a country that was hostile to tribal sovereignty and also reluctant to extend US citizenship to Native people.

Uncover some of the hidden histories of the period between the late 1920s and early 1940s as you learn how Native Americans set about making a New Deal for themselves and their communities during an era of uncertainty and convulsive change for the nation at large. You'll also get an introduction to the Indian New Deal.

Move from World War I and the turbulent 1930s to World War II to learn how the war and onset of the atomic age transformed the lives of Native Americans. While the challenges and opportunities faced by Native Americans paralleled the ones faced by many other Americans, you'll learn how the outcomes proved to be vastly different. And you'll discover Native American heroes of the War.

Explore American Indian experiences during the early Cold War period, when loyalties were often questioned. Native Americans used the politics of the Cold War era to define freedom through the 1950s and 1960s. Nationalism and decolonization then surfaced as conflicts over fishing rights brought the struggle over Native American treaty rights back into the foreground of American consciousness.

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the efflorescence of American Indian militancy, beginning with the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969, to the Trail of Broken Treaties in November 1972 and the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973. Professor Cobb demonstrates how Native American activism intersected with the mainstream movements of the time.

Professor Cobb reveals how tribal nations haven't settled for survival alone. We're still in the midst of an era of recovery and revitalization, one that has tested the limits of individual rights and tribal sovereignty. He'll follow a few of the critical sites of contemporary struggle.

The Great Courses has partnered with Smithsonian to bring you a series that reveals new perspectives on the historical and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples and their significant impact on this country. Gain a new point of view on seemingly familiar stories America was built on, and be prepared to change how you understand American history.