An attempt to denigrate a book if not hide it in Texas has been reversed, at least for the time being. In this era of increasing censorship of libraries, every victory adds a ray of hope that the freedom to read and speak will not be extinguished in America.
Last month, Montgomery County, Texas, just north of Houston, created a citizens' committee to review children's books in the county library. Librarians were removed from decision making. These types of committees have been popping up around the country recently, and in the name of “protecting” children, they serve as censors of views other than those of people in power. In this case, the committee chose to reclassify the book Colonization and the Wampanoag Story from nonfiction to fiction. The Wampanoag is an Indian tribe native to southeastern Massachusetts. They are the ones who “greeted” the Pilgrims when they arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1621 and began settling their land.
Interactions were at first peaceful, and they were the ones who celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, presuming there is some truth to that story. As the new settlers began taking over more land, relations soured. The Wampanoag were not treated so well, some pushed into conversions, others sold into slavery. War broke out between the parties in 1675, King Philip's War. In a tale that would be retold over and over for the next couple of centuries, from Massachusetts to the Pacific coast, the invaders would win, if not every battle, then every war. They were too powerful, with larger numbers and better weapons.
The Wampanoag still exist in parts of their own territory, though in a small percentage of their original population. Their blood has been mixed with that of the settlers, much of their original culture forgotten or buried under the pressures of living in the world as it is today. Still, some cling to parts of the old culture and language, trying to retain a heritage that all should celebrate, even the people of Montgomery County Texas, so far away.
Nevertheless, the new committee consigned the Wampanoag story to fiction, treating the first citizens as if they were hobbits or some other sort of fictional beings. But, the decision took an unexpected turn for the committee. Citizens rebelled, and a group of organizations joined them, including Indian and pro-freedom groups, along with groups such as the Authors Guild, PEN America, Penguin Random House, and the Texas Library Association. Their voices were heard. The Montgomery County Commission reversed the order, put a hold on all committee actions post October 1, and set up a committee to review the policy that created this attempted censorship. The Wampanoag will again have the opportunity to speak the truth as they see it to the people who now control the vast lands that once belonged to them and their fellow native tribes.
