I was disturbed to see this comment posted a a Franciscan professor of French, Dr. Timothy Williams, on Crisis Magazine:
“A little off topic here, but I am damn sick of the phrase “Native American.” Anthropological and archeological evidence proves decisively that the Indians migrated to this land during the last Ice Age, and either absorbed or pushed out indigenous populations. https://www.smithsonianmag… They came by the Siberian route. My ancestors came by the Atlantic route, but I am just as much a Native American as any American Indian. And my ancestors were not nearly as cruel to them and they were to each other.”(January 23, https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/infamous-scribblers-virtue-signalers-on-the-warpath)
Needless to say, he didn’t understand the Smithsonian article, which doesn’t suggest anything of the sort. In fact, it discusses a skeleton that was found to be a descendant of ancestors who had crossed over from Siberia!
And:
“… I wonder what the Iroquois sang as they ate their living victims? Probably a “Thanksgiving prayer.””
Franciscan is a school we have considered for our child, but, in view of these comments, my wife and I are concerned about the school’s environment. As Catholic parents, we place a very high value on treating others with respect, justice, and compassion, and I am saddened to see that Franciscan hires staff with contemptuous views of other human beings.
The link to the Smithsonian article is dead, and I can’t seem to find the cite in the comments to the article - can anyone post it? I’d love to read it.
My understanding is that Native Americans did not push out any earlier indigenous human populations when they crossed over Beringia, but I’m not familiar with the latest research in the area. Of course, in the broad sweep of the history of homo sapiens, pushing out, replacing, outcompeting, even exterminating entire peoples has been de rigeur, as the latest genetic research has pretty much conclusively demonstrated. (See, for instance, Reich’s fascinating Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past.) So, it wouldn’t be surprising that the ancestors of the Native Americans at the time of contact had themselves displaced earlier arrivals in the New World, but I don’t think we know that yet.
You have to keep clicking for more comments to get to the cited ones.
I don’t object to the teacher’s poor scholarship and faulty understanding of the article so much as I object to his racist comments, which are very disappointing. Imagine if a student of Iroquois descent had to listen to him make comments about cannibalism. That would be like taunting a student from England because of the lecherous, violent behavior of English kings.
Thanks, @DadIDJAME. I did subsequently find the article and it turned out that I had read it years ago (I have an amateur interest in human history).
On your original question, I read through most of the over 200 comments to the Crisis magazine article, coming across the comment and citation after hitting the “More comments” button a few times. Dr. Williams argues forcefully, but civilly, for the most part. Obviously, it is easier to lose the bounds of civility in an online forum than in real life, something we should all remember once in a while. On balance, I would have no qualms being associated with a university that employs him, but I have a very broad tolerance for free speech. Best of luck whatever you decide with regard to your child’s future education!
I will preface this by saying that I’m a woman of color, and this kind of racism is appalling to me.
However, I will also say that the comments of one professor don’t, by themselves, define a school. Professors often have tenure, and for better or worse, tenure sometimes protects them from the consequences of saying offensive or blatantly wrong things.
What’s important is how the school reacts. They may decide to publicly denounce this professor, and his colleagues may rally together and publish some sort of open letter, or at least publicly agree with denouncements. It may become clear that he is opposed by most of the students and faculty, and that the atmosphere is quite different there.
Or, the school may remain silent, or defend him. That would be indicative of a more problematic culture.