Textbook withdrawn as 'shocking' question on Native Americans draws criticism
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A history textbook has been withdrawn after an image in it asked whether the horrific treatment of Native Americans by the US government had been exaggerated. A youth worker had found the image in the book. The publisher Hodder has now withdrawn it
A history textbook has been withdrawn in the UK after furore over an image in it asking whether the horrific treatment of Native Americans by the US government in the past had been exaggerated.
I do some history mentoring and while prepping for tomorrow's session i have some questions for you @AQA.
— Hannah Wilkinson (@hannahcw127) October 20, 2021
In what world is this is an acceptable question/exercise to ask students to complete on the history of Native Americans in late 1800s US? Actually horrified. pic.twitter.com/zQRoDWy4DD
A youth worker had found the image in the book. It asked students to balance "criticisms of treatment of Native Americans" with "defence" of their treatment in the late 1800s.
The period had witnessed some massacres of Native American tribes by the government. The publisher Hodder has now withdrawn the book.
In the textbook, ‘The Making of a Superpower: USA 1865-1975', students are asked "to what extent do you believe the treatment of Native Americans has been exaggerated?"
“The exercise was quite problematic. It was deeply shocking to see how ingrained racial injustice is," Hannah Wilkinson, who offers history mentoring sessions at Durham Sixth Form Centre, told the BBC.
"The period we're looking at is a period of American policy where Native Americans were treated terribly. The way the textbook framed it suggests that maybe the treatment of Native Americans has been exaggerated," Wilkinson added.
(With inputs from agencies)