Prof. David Massell Spoke Differently Less Than Three Years Ago
In Issue 9, Volume 136 of UVM’s weekly The Vermont Cynic (published October 22, 2019), there is a full page article on page 3 reporting on the proceedings of the Oct. 15, 2019 Indigenous Peoples’ Day event on campus. It was a happy first observance of the permanent legislative change from marking Oct. 12th as Columbus Day to an official statewide Indigenous Peoples’ Day. University dignitaries, tribal members, students, and honored guests marked the occasion with song and speech, amply described in reporter Ella Ruehsen’s coverage.
It is enlightening to look back at the words of Canadian Studies Professor David Massell quoted at length from the podium that day and who more recently has been speaking from a very different place, the aegis of which is still under discussion. Such an about-face begs many questions, especially given his comments not very long ago. Screenshots of the full article, an excerpt of Prof. Massell’s remarks, and a transcription are below…
With credit to a friend for researching this item.
Transcription:
It [had been] a day to celebrate the so-called discovery of America by Italian mariner Christopher Columbus, history professor David Massell said.
“If there is a right of discovery it most certainly belongs to indigenous people who crossed the Bering Land bridge as many as 14,000 or 15,000 years ago,” Massell said. “If we are going to have a holiday celebrating this event, credit should be given to Indigenous Peoples of America.”
The new holiday title is a positive change in that it paves the way to better the relationships between the state of Vermont, UVM and the local native peoples, because those relations have not always been positive, Massell said.
“Where UVM is concerned I know there is considerable resentment in the Abenaki community for the University’s sanctioning of and support of eugenics and sterilization movement from the 1930s forward,” Massell said.
For the University last year to extend support and solidarity to the local Abenaki through the events held Oct. 15 was a positive thing, he said.
As a professor, the most important contribution to make to mending relations with indigenous people is to teach courses that focus on their history and cultures and to teach them as well as possible, Massell said.