Troubling state (of) affairs: A critical analysis of a state-approved, elementary field trip

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of one docent's discussion of Michigan history to a group of third-grade children as part of a week-long state-sponsored history program. By analyzing the docent's presentation about Indigenous and Fur Trade history at the Michigan History Museum, the authors argue that the docent forwarded a violent, settler colonial worldview. Using a dual-lens of Indigenous Studies and critical literacies, the authors detail how these narratives asserted a white supremacist national and state history. The authors offer a critical historical method rooted in the Lands and Waters that constitute Michigan, and propose potential sites of historiographical disruption, contestation, and critical thinking. In turn, they highlight the possibilities for museums as rich spaces for children to examine their relationships to community, nationhood, and social justice through stories told from multiple perspectives.