ABSTRACT
In the context of Native American argumentation studies, seeking to tell own truths means expanding the scope of our studies to include the mainstream majority’s arguments insofar as they normalize and perpetuate the historical and continued displacement of Native American peoples. This chapter expands studies in Native American argumentation. It examines the cultural practices and discourses settler societies tell, not about Native American peoples but rather about themselves, showing how these arguments work to anesthetize the historical removal and contemporary marginalization of Native American communities and cultures. Schmitt elaborated on the idea in his analysis of Native American effigy mound layouts, in which the mounds functioned as “places of modern rhetorics” in that “their arrangements–through text, image, material, and other elements–serve to perpetuate modern regimes of truth and experience instead of ancient ones”. The local Native American community and allies were quick to articulate their incredulousness at the Arts Center’s inept curation.
