Vicissitudes and Victories

My Trip With the Corps of Discovery

I recently returned from accompanying a group of teachers on a field trip to retrace part of the route taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition as the explored the American West. These famed explorers were the vanguard of the United States's imperial movements westward. Historians have embraced the party's courage and resolve and the Corps has become part of our great nation's creation myth. While I join many Americans in celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Clark's and Lewis's famous endeavor this year, we all must always remember that the explorers did not come to an empty wilderness. There were people in Lewis's and Clark's West, people with complicated cultures and societies. Clark's and Lewis's initiation on such an epic journey enacted significant changes to American Indian culture and destiny. Even in this ultimate exploration for American freedom could be found Clark's slave, York. As Americans we need to acknowledge the sticky and complicated past of our own nation. Sometimes its past is wrought with ambiguous meaning. Although the Clark and Lewis Expedition obviously represented the grandeur of American expansion, it also represented the oppression of an entire native tradition--a tradition changed permanently for good or for ill.

posted by Joel @ 12:11 AM