Coll Thrush Analysis

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Local History of The Crossing-Over Place Local history is about making a connection of past, present, and, at times, the future. It is a mode by which to gain perspective on broader, national events. Coll Thrush, in Native Seattle, uses this perspective by looking at the presence of urban Indian culture and its association to Indians of the past in order to connect a sense of time and place among a specific culture group. Thrush makes the case himself that all history is local (p.16). He even goes as far as to say that other American cities have potential for these kinds of stories – the broader perspective. What Native Seattle brings to the broader table is a unique story to the city of Seattle that provides both a cultural and historical…show more content…
To make this connection, Thrush includes the Duwamish, Shilsholes, and Snoqualmie Indians in his analysis. These three culture groups once called Seattle “The Crossing-Over Place” because it was a central location for these groups for seasonal labor, not necessarily a place for dwelling. Thrush explains that even as industry and environment changed, these groups still maintained relations, thus there was an intermingling of urban and non-urban communities. Change of industry and environment was due to the federal boundaries imposed on Indians, but regardless of those boundaries, there were several individuals and groups that pushed back with resistance. Like many stories of Indian groups nationally, Thrush portrays the struggles of these Indian groups as they faced the impending reality of reservation life. He argues that these acts of resistance represent acts of native continuance (p.96). This is where Indian history throughout the United States is interconnected. Thrush concentrates on the resistance of native people as a means of their connectedness to modern society. He talks about Red Power activism in the 1960’s and 70’s, which ties Indian communities to the political scene of the fish-ins of the Puget Sound and the takeover of Fort Lawson. This type of activism is not uncommon to the Indian struggles throughout the country, then and now, particularly when it comes to land
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