Reflection

Before reading Killing Custer, I have never heard of the “Custer Myth”. So as I read the novel I wondered if the myth has slowly disappeared. I decided to ask several of my friends and classmates and they too have not heard of the myth. This made me wonder on whether the memories of heroes really do last longer than a few decades. Of course there are those individuals whose name and contribution no one will forget, but those individuals make up a very small percentage of history’s heroes. This idea complements this past week’s discussion question on which heroes legacies really do stay alive amongst society and whether the hero’s true character is distorted.

Many of my past history teachers have consistently complained that it is difficult to study history since it is all practically written from a bias perspective. History has been written by dominant white males, who have tried to justify white supremacy. I wonder if history books would have been differently written if an African-American’s or Native American’s were able to contribute. This is obviously a very abstract idea to imagine but it does raise many questions. Would the Native Americans have different lives if the truth was written in the East coasts paper? Most likely not, but history books today would not glorify America has much. Welch tries to show the audience a different historical viewpoint and he accomplishes it by showcasing factual information that many individuals would rather not be addressed.

I believe that many people turn their cheek when it comes to truth about our history’s past. Whether it has to deal with slavery or the Native Americans, individuals like to portray their nation as best as possible. This distortion of history does not only happen in America but as well as in other countries. For example, in the communist countries during the Soviet Union era, teachers were forced to teach kids a distorted idea about the Russians during World War II. This thought is very disturbing and it makes me question today’s media. Will history books try justifying the Iraq War? Will the white man once again be idealized as a hero? Only time will tell, but it is an interesting thought to take into account.