History Professor Denies Native Genocide: Native Student Disagreed, Then Says Professor Expelled Her From Course
A Cal State Sacramento University professor who allegedly told his
United States History class he did not like the term ‘genocide’ in
relation to Native Americans in history, told a Native American student
who disagreed with him that she was disenrolled and expelled from his
course.
UPDATE: The Sacramento State History Department has
issued a tweet stating Johnson was not expelled from the course. You can
read the article update here: Sac State History Dept Tweets - "Student Not Disenrolled."
The account is according to Native university student, Chiitaanibah
Johnson (Navajo/Maidu) a 19-year-old sophomore student at Cal State
Sacramento University.
Johnson says when she told her U.S. History Professor Maury Wiseman
that she disagreed with his assessment that Native Americans did not
face genocide, the professor said she was hijacking his class, and that
she was accusing him of bigotry and racism.
The professor then dismissed the class early, apologized for
Johnson’s disruptions and told her she was disenrolled at the end of the
class on Friday.
“The whole thing started on Wednesday,” Johnson told ICTMN. “He was
talking about Native America and he said the word genocide. He paused
and said ‘I don't like to use that word because I think it is too strong
for what happened’ and ‘genocide implies that it was on purpose and
most native people were wiped out by European diseases.'"
