Islamic schools must move away from teaching through colonists-centered stereotype
By Shima Khan
March/April 2022
Islamic schools have a moral, ethical and religious responsibility to debunk harmful stereotypes about the people of the First Nations.
A look at an Islamic school’s Facebook post about how they “celebrate[d] Native American culture” in their preschool and Pre-K classes was not just disturbing, but also alarming. The posted photos were horrific, to say the least: Teachers in hijab with face paint, students wearing feather-adorned hats and one even dressed as a pilgrim [read colonizer].
As a parent and educator who is on high alert during Thanksgiving week, upon seeing this post I was not only embarrassed for my community, but also furious at this blatant perpetuation of stereotypes.
The issue is that the “feast” was meant to be a fun day for the kids and the teachers, most of whom must be immigrants to this country and on their own individual journeys of recognizing power and privilege. We can only hope the school didn’t include the myth of the original Thanksgiving, one where the Natives and Pilgrims broke bread together peacefully. Perpetuating these harmful stereotypes about the Indigenous People contributes to the false narrative that exists not only in the U.S., but around the world –that Indigenous People are a thing of the past, that they no longer exist.
However, worst of all is the lack of recognition of the genocide that took place. History can be taught in an age-appropriate manner, but teachers [and parents] must educate themselves first.
First, each tribe has a separate language, culture and way of dress, just as people on any other continent do. To lump them together as a monolith is harmful. Second, the “feast” being celebrated is that of the settler colonists returning to Plymouth (Mass.) from Connecticut, where they had massacred hundreds of the Pequot people. As the Wampanoag had no choice but to sign a treaty after this massacre, fearing that they would be next, there was nothing celebratory about this meal.
What followed was the First Nations’ almost complete erasure through disease, murder and forced migration, all of which reduced the population from millions to thousands over the centuries. The details can be shared in an age-appropriate manner. Revamping the curriculum to be mindful of this violent history is the responsible thing to do.
Certainly, families who partake in a gratitude dinner, which was always a practice of the Indigenous Peoples, can do so. Simultaneously, it’s important to recognize that upholding the myth of Thanksgiving is to uphold white supremacy.
Islamic schools have the unique opportunity to raise and nurture changemakers. They are affinity spaces that, if used correctly, can uplift and center the voices of other marginalized groups. Islamic schools’ curriculum needs to focus on a critical analysis of the country’s history, as well as its foundation and underlying premise. In the late 1960s, the Black Panthers founded the Oakland Community School, among many other community efforts, where students were seen and taught as changemakers and critical thinkers. Their minds and souls were nourished via engagement with their own community, its history and a sense of solidarity with other marginalized groups.
Islamic schools can channel the same energy into our schools. To do so, administrators, teachers and parents will need to move out of their comfort zones to seek beyond the “packaged” material created by a mindless following of myths — the “White man as savior.”
Instead of teaching about Native Americans through a feast full of stereotypes, what if we started by making land acknowledgements, learning about the tribes that exist today and local prayer towns? Instead of reinforcing the Indigenous Peoples’ invisibility and erasure, what if we introduced students to the annual Day of Mourning protest that takes place in Plymouth on the last Thursday of November? How about taking an intersectional approach and inviting Native American Muslim speakers or reading their narratives?
As poet Maya Angelou (d.2014) reminds us, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” It’s our responsibility as a community to unlearn the settler colonist narrative and relearn the narrative that First Nations have been speaking out about. This isn’t promoting transactional solidarity by any means, but I hope that we realize that our efforts, as a community, are lacking when it comes to standing up for others, especially the Indigenous and Black, Hispanic and Asian communities.
In Indigenous circles, the occupation of Palestine is named and discussed unapologetically. Muslim Americans need to do better in terms of recognizing that they also sit on stolen land in the United States of America.
American Muslims have the unique opportunity to live out the values of social justice that Islam teaches. Islam is a faith of activism, and commitment to social justice is an act of worship. Piety can be achieved through individual worship and one’s quest for salvation, and by wanting for your neighbor what you want for yourself. Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), said, “A moment of justice is better than seventy years of worship whose nights are spent with praying and days with fasting” (“Mishkat ul-Anwar,” 544).
It is our divine responsibility to be more than allies. We must step into action. The spaces and structures are in place, and we must use them thoughtfully and consciously.
Tips
• Start every meeting and official event with a Land Acknowledgement: Honoring the space you inhabit means that you understand and acknowledge that wherever you are in the Americas, you are in Native spaces. It means knowing that Indigenous People are this land’s original caretakers and have a connection to it.
• Share resources with your teaching staff: Talk about the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation. Use our own experience as a community that is often misrepresented (and exoticized) as the access point to uplift the voices of other BIPOC communities.
• Advocate for and fundraise to preserve Indigenous languages and cultures.
• An excellent resource is Judy Dow’s (Abenaki) “Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First Thanksgiving’” (http://oyate.org/index.php). It should be a must-read while preparing for the last week of November. Center the voices of Indigenous People.
• If you haven’t already, change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in your calendars, towns and cities.
• Read books such as: “We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga,” by Traci Sorell (Cherokee); “The First Strawberries,” by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki); “Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition,” by Sally M. Hunter (Ojibwe) and “Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message,” by Jake Swamp (Mohawk).
• Also, support Indigenous businesses, donate to their causes, center their voices and share narratives of Native Americans in your community.
Shima Khan, Department of English, Wellesley High School, Wellesley, Mass.
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