I would imagine it was a similar story to when my great grand-parents homesteaded the family farm in Minnesota in the 1870's. It's interesting to remember that my father spoke reverently about the Sioux natives who had lived on that land; I don't think he was educated in understanding the impact of the displacement of the First People. However, I remember him often saying, respectfully, "They (Sioux) were here first."
Your dad was unusual in treating the Indigenous people with respect. The settler colonial dynamic dehumanizes Native peoples, making them other and less than.
I would imagine it was a similar story to when my great grand-parents homesteaded the family farm in Minnesota in the 1870's. It's interesting to remember that my father spoke reverently about the Sioux natives who had lived on that land; I don't think he was educated in understanding the impact of the displacement of the First People. However, I remember him often saying, respectfully, "They (Sioux) were here first."
Your dad was unusual in treating the Indigenous people with respect. The settler colonial dynamic dehumanizes Native peoples, making them other and less than.