Jamie Isaacson
Mr. Zontek
History 136
Participation #1
Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States pp. 18 – 22 chronicles the accomplishments of the 75 million strong Native American population spanning Alaska to Brazil, writing about their feats of agriculture (growing corn), engineering (building of dams, irrigation canals, and earthen sculptures), art (jewelry, pottery, and basket weaving), cultural unity (the five tribes of the Iroquois League) and proto-Communism (group owning of land and lodgings). He explains how the Iroquois had a culture promoting equality of the sexes, stating that women ran the government (women appointed and removed tribal leaders), agricultural affairs (women grew the crops), general life (running of day to day affairs), and home life (men joined their wife’s family on marriage) of the tribe. Zinn goes on to detail how children were taught self-reliance, independence, and the importance of equality, all in contrast to what was taught to European children.…