A week or two ago, the kids and I took my husband's mother out for the day. We'd been to the Webster County Fair and, even though the kids had enjoyed it, we knew there wasn't much more to be had. We opted for a stop at the Fort Museum (Fort Dodge, Iowa) instead.
The Fort is a replica with a surprising number of artifacts and original buildings from the 1800's. In fact, one of the buildings from the original fort is there, along with a smaller version of the Cardiff Giant -- an early century hoax out of Cardiff, NY with ties to the Fort Dodge gypsum mines.
Like every place, Fort Dodge has some interesting bits in its history, but it leaves plenty to be desired as the supposed cultural center of North Central Iowa.
Visiting the Fort, on its own, poses an interesting conflict. On one hand, I believe we should be proud of the risks settlers took when they moved into "uncharted" territory and tried to do the best by their families. On the other hand, I cannot begin to comprehend what made our governments believe we had any right to infringe on native people's right to land, and certainly not on their ways of life or their religion or the ways they raised their children.
As much pride as there is in this place, there is just as much horror and shame for those who know the bigger picture. How do we balance these lessons for our children as they grow older? How do we explain (in a way that understands to anybody) how we can commend and condemn these actions in the same breath? It's like saying Hitler was a dedicated visionary - separating his actions from his passion?
Issues like these will continue to pose problems for me, as I live and as I share those opinions with our children. It does leave a person wondering ... how different would our world be today if we'd chosen to respect the people living here and adopted more of their way of life instead of demanding they conform to our culture, and our plan for their lower standard of living?
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