Concord Academy is known for offering a wide variety of history electives across various time periods and focusing on different areas of the world. With the addition of Mitchell Morris to the CA History Department this year, courses on Native American history were introduced as an exciting new expansion.
Morris grew up in Maine but later lived in Montana. This change led to him being surrounded by Native culture and lands, and opened his eyes to the importance of Native American history.
This fall semester, Morris is teaching two different Native American courses. The first is an intro-level course, called The World of Native America. Morris described, “I see [the course] as more of a cultural study, so there are few, if any, dates or names. The topics we’re discussing are very timeless and ancient.”
He explained one challenge of teaching the course, however. Because of how far back Native American history goes, there are few ancient texts to reference. This class in particular is very unique because of the lack of written sources. Morris stated, “Trying to look at these ancient and timeless things is something that I think is really new and exciting and rare, and it is a unique opportunity for me as a teacher and for the students in this class.”
The second course, called Native America and the United States, is a mid-level offering focused on the Native Americans in the U.S. Unlike The World of Native America, it is less centered on the cultural aspects of Native American life. Morris explained, “We’re mostly looking at the ways Native people and the United States as entities competed with each other, sometimes [getting] along with each other, sometimes [conflicting] with each other, and tracing that through time.”
A third Native American course will be available to upperclassmen as an upper-level elective in the spring semester. This course, called American Environmental History, is more recent, covering the last 150 years. This class will build on some Native American topics, but expand towards larger topics, such as how the growing American economy impacted its landscape. “We’ll get into some more contemporary topics like environmental racism and environmental justice,” Morris elaborated.
Morris explained why these courses are so important to have and how they are very unique to CA. Many other schools touch on Native Americans at the very beginning of a U.S. history course. However, not everyone has the opportunity to learn about Native American ways of life on such a deep level. All of these courses start out focused on reading, discussion, and foundational writing skills, and will later become more self-directed. Morris hopes to carve out time for students to pursue independent research projects and lead their own studies on what they find interesting.
When asked what inspired him to teach these classes, Morris explained that many U.S. history courses feel incomplete or skip over valuable topics like Native American history. He added, “I wanted to teach the history that wasn't being taught, that I felt was being overlooked.”
Overall, these new courses on Native America are unique and important additions to the CA history department, and very much worth taking as a student.