Blogs > Skipped History with Ben Tumin > How the Book of Mormon Inspired the "Termination" of Native American Tribes

Oct 6, 2021

How the Book of Mormon Inspired the "Termination" of Native American Tribes


tags: Indigenous Peoples,ben tumin,skipped history,termination,arthur watkins,menominee,paiute

Hello, HNN pals!

In anticipation of Indigenous People's Day, let’s go back to 1953, when a Mormon senator tried to help native peoples become “white and delightsome.” Even Richard Nixon knew it was a bad plan. Alas:

New this week, you can listen to an audio version of the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! If you listen on Apple and enjoy the new format, I’d love for you to rate and review the show! I’m tickled to be on the other side of this ask.

You can also watch the episode on Instagram here. 

This week’s story comes from The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer; Beneath These Red Cliffs by Ronald Holt; and an article in Utah Historical Quarterly by Carolyn Grattan-Aiello.

Next time on Skipped History…

We explore the origins of the Pledge of Allegiance, originally written in 1892. However, God only became part of the pledge in 1954. Not coincidentally, this timing coincided with corporate executives’ attempts to roll back the New Deal...

See you then!

Ben



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