Introducing "First America": How 250 Years of History Shaped Today's Political Moment
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, Snappers, it's Glenn. And at Snap, you know we love sound-rich, deeply human stories. And that's why I think you're going to really enjoy today's episode, the debut of First America, the brand-new history podcast from Critical Frequency and Pushkin Industries. Hosted by award-winning journalist Rebecca Nagel and featuring leading Native historians, First America explores how Native people have been left out of the American story. Without them, the American story is wrong. From the Declaration of Independence to the founders' real motivations for rebellion and the government they built, First America reveals the true story of the founding of the United States and how today's political movement has been 250 years in the making.
In this premiere episode, Rebecca sits down with Ned Blackhawk, who is Western Shoshone and a leading scholar of Indigenous history. to explore why the drive to seize indigenous land, not taxation without representation, fueled the American Revolution. And before we play this eye-opening conversation, be sure to follow First America on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, here's the episode.
Where do you want us to park? Should we park right here?
I think you have to park in here.
The port is that way?
Yeah, the port's that way. On a cold day in January, I visited Fort Snelling in Minneapolis. I was there with my friend Nick Estes. He's a history professor at the University of Minnesota and a citizen of the Lower Borough Sioux Tribe.
This is the historic Fort Snelling. Do you want to walk closer to it?
Can you just describe what the fort looks like?
Well, the fort has a guard tower, and then there's a wall that surrounds the entire fort. There's a series of barracks.
Next to the historic buildings are modern-day trash cans to let you know this is a tourist attraction. School kids come here on field trips.
This is a sacred site for Dakota people, which was later appropriated by the U.S. military to build their fort. So... Look at that bald eagle. Told you we were going to see one. Yeah. I wish the United States never appropriated the eagle. Do you hear him? Look at him. He's coming right towards us. I mean, I don't know, man. I don't know how you can't believe in the power of this stuff because those things happen for a reason. Told you we were going to see one.
The history of what happened at Fort Snelling is significant to the Dakota people. And that history is acknowledged at the site. But you have to go and find it.
There's like a healing site right over here.
It's next to an underpass. Down a long set of stairs on the edge of the woods. Can you describe what the memorial looks like?
Yeah, so it's like a camp circle, but in the center it looks like there's prayer ties, sage, tobacco, etc. wrapped in cloth. And there are also prayer ties in the trees that surround us.
Who do you think left the prayer ties in the trees?
I'm assuming it's the descendants of those who experienced that genocide.
Yeah.
Over 1,600 Dakota people were held here during the winter of 1862.
This is the area, actually, where the concentration camp was actually at. Dakota people, people who dared to stand up to the United States, were put into a concentration camp and killed. All kinds of atrocities happened.
The concentration camp was just one part of a broader campaign to expel all Dakota people from the state of Minnesota. The campaign also included death marches, massacres, bounties placed on Indigenous heads, open-air prisons, and mass executions.
There was a lot of malnutrition, purposeful starvation. There were reports of women being raped and violated. You know, it's a site of horrors.
Do you think most people who come to this spot, do you think that they come here to honor the atrocity that happened here?
No, they're doing winter sports, recreation. I mean, you can see right here, you can see these parallel tracks. People cross-country ski through this area.
While we were standing there, some hikers walked by. Hi.
Hello.
Walking around Fort Snelling with Nick, it felt like this perfect metaphor for our country.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–6:19
2
Why did Rebecca visit Fort Snelling and what history does the site reveal?
6:19–16:07
3
How does the Fort Snelling memorial explain Dakota imprisonment and atrocities of 1862?
16:07–29:22
4
Why did Rebecca stay in Minneapolis after Renee Nicole Good was killed by ICE?
29:22–37:03