BONUS: The Chosen And The Damned: Native Americans And The Makings Of Race In The United States
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In this bonus episode of the After Dinner Podcast, host Jay Swords welcomes Dr. David Silverman, historian and professor at George Washington University, to discuss his book *The Chosen and the Damned: Native Americans and the Makings of Race in the United States*. Silverman explores how racial identities in America were not only shaped by Black-White dynamics but were fundamentally constructed through the violent colonization and genocide of Native peoples. He examines the failed 1900s proposal for the National American Indian Memorial—a monument intended to symbolize Native welcome to immigrants while also lamenting their sacrifice—as a powerful example of how Native identity was mythologized and instrumentalized. The conversation delves into how settler colonialism, unlike Spanish colonialism, aimed not just to conquer but to replace Indigenous populations, leading to the emergence of racial categories as justifications for land theft and extermination. Silverman emphasizes that Native people are not a monolithic race but distinct tribal nations whose sovereignty and treaty rights remain central to their identity. He argues that understanding this history is essential to confronting present-day racial dynamics, including the manipulation of identity for political division and the persistent myth of racial superiority. The episode concludes with a call to center Native voices in historical narratives and to recognize that true racial justice requires honoring treaty obligations, not reparations in the form of land, but the enforcement of existing legal commitments.
Race in America was not solely a Black-White construct but was fundamentally shaped by the genocide and displacement of Native peoples.
The failed National American Indian Memorial symbolized both the mythologizing of Native welcome and the erasure of Native sovereignty.
Settler colonialism sought to replace Indigenous populations, unlike Spanish colonialism, which often co-opted existing Indigenous hierarchies.
Native identity is rooted in tribal nationhood, not race, making them vulnerable to 'divide and conquer' tactics used during colonization.
Native people are not demanding reparations in the form of land return but are calling for the U.S. to uphold its treaty obligations—its own laws.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Introducing the National American Indian Memorial and Its Symbolism
“They imagined that what set the United States in motion was Native people welcoming Europeans to their homelands and effectively signing off their country so that white people could replace them on the land.”
Race as a Foundational Construct: The Three-Legged Stool of American Identity
“White identity emerged not just relative to the enslavement and later segregation of black people. It emerged... in the context of a genocide, a multi-stage genocide, a multi-generational genocide against Indigenous people.”
Colonialism, Enslavement, and the Difference Between Spanish and English Approaches
The episode contrasts Spanish colonialism, which co-opted Indigenous rulers, with English settler colonialism, which aimed to replace Native populations. This distinction explains why slavery of Native Americans was unsustainable and why racial identity became a tool of conquest.
The Persistence of Racial Constructs and the Danger of Dehumanization
“When you speak about people in dehumanizing terms, usually it means that dehumanizing treatment of them is about to follow.”
Native Sovereignty, Tribal Identity, and the Myth of Reparations
“What they're interested in is the United States upholding its promises in Senate ratified treaties, which once again are the supreme law of the land under the U.S. Constitution.”
“White identity emerged not just relative to the enslavement and later segregation of black people. It emerged... in the context of a genocide, a multi-stage genocide, a multi-generational genocide against Indigenous people.”
“When you speak about people in dehumanizing terms, usually it means that dehumanizing treatment of them is about to follow.”
“What they're interested in is the United States upholding its promises in Senate ratified treaties, which once again are the supreme law of the land under the U.S. Constitution.”
Host
Guest
Dr. David Silverman
person
Terry Toppler
person
National American Indian Memorial
other
English colonialism
other
Treaties
other
Joseph K. Dixon
person
Spanish colonialism
other
KALA Radio
organization
Wanamaker family
organization
Statue of Liberty
other
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