angT_2100_00_07C
Territory and memory
anglais
37
Territory and memory • Sujet zéro 2020
Native Americans
expression orale
Intérêt du sujet • Ces deux formes d'art permettent de rappeler que le territoire américain était au départ habité par les Amérindiens, spoliés ensuite de leurs terres par les colons.
Choisissez un document et expliquez en quoi il illustre le mieux, selon vous, l'axe « Territoire et mémoire ».
Document A
ph © DR
Trail of the Iron Horse, 1924, Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926), Private collection, since 2003
Document B
© Jaque Fragua – DR
This Is Indian Land, July 2016, temporary painting on construction wall by Native American street artist Jaque Fragua, Los Angeles, corner of South Eighth Street and Main Street
Les clés du sujet
Comprendre les documents
Préparer sa présentation
Présentation
Voici un exemple de présentation orale à partir du document A.
To illustrate the idea of territory and memory, I have chosen the first document, because it seems to me the most interesting.
Description of the document
conseil
Commencez par décrire le document pour vous mettre à l'aise à l'oral.
Let's start with the description of this document.
This painting represents a party of Native Americans discovering a railroad on their territory. Although it was painted in 1924, the scene represented must have taken place before, probably in the 19th century, at the time of the expansion of railways in the US. The men and the horses look both surprised and wary.
vocabulaire
railroad/railway line : des voies ferrées
wary : soupçonneux
Indeed, this painting illustrates a clash of cultures, between the Native Americans who had lived close to nature for centuries, and the settlers who arrived on the continent and changed it utterly.
A lost territory
What is at the core of this clash is a struggle for the land.
This clash of cultures is hinted at with the title: the Trail of the Iron Horse refers to the railways, as if it were being seen from the Native Americans'perspective. But the superiority of the Americans is here asserted: the railroads would surpass horses.
This superiority echoes what would later happen in terms of territory: during the Indian wars in the second half of the 19th century, Native Americans were gradually defeated and lost their territory, sent to live in reservations, most of them doomed to disease and alcoholism.
vocabulaire
reservations : des réserves
Remembering history
Obviously, this painting works as a testimony of the past.
vocabulaire
a testimony : un témoignage
relevant : pertinent
Even when it was painted, the watercolour depicts something that already belonged to the past. Therefore, it is a sort of snapshot that aims to show us something few have witnessed.
With the hindsight of history, when we look backward, we can only grasp the extent of the Native Americans'loss. History is written by the winners; hence the necessity to provide elements of remembrance for the losers as well. Even though they still live in reservations, Native Americans still claim that the American continent was theirs before anyone else's.
Conclusion
So, all in all, I find this document very relevant because it links the idea of territory (crucial at the time of colonisation) and that of memory, through a specific visual medium: art.
Entretien
Voici quelques questions que l'examinateur pourrait vous poser.
▶ You said that history is written by the winners. Can you explain?
What I meant was, when two cultures clash, there is always one that submits to the other. And when historical accounts are made, it is often the voice of the winner that counts, not that of the losers. That's why in the past, some tribes were crushed and we know very little about them nowadays. But to be fair, this notion of history has changed. In modern History classes we are more and more confronted with both sides of the story which is a real sign of progress.
▶ In the case of Native Americans, do you think remembering matters for them only?
Obviously not, since the painter, Charles Russell, was a white settler. Despite this, he felt the need to represent this scene. Somehow the situation is ironic, as this white painter is expressing the Native Americans'loss of territory. Obviously he takes the side of the Indians here.