What do we remember? What do we memorialize and teach? I think this was the theme of my last day in Washington. I always find it curious that so many people, events, inventions get forgotten, and yet some individuals and happenings are in constant view.
My day started with attending some of the many sessions at the NCSS conference. One that was quite exciting was called: "Expedition and Colonial 'America' 1776 in California - Juan Bautista de Anza". Who? Yes that was my first thought as well. American colonialization is dominated by the " East Coast pilgrims and Plymouth Rock" history and because this America myth is so strong, it over-shadows the explorers and adventures on the other side of the continent. Juan Bautista de Anza is one such forgotten man.
Using 200 - 300 year old trails, de Anza lead a group of 240 men, women and children to Alta California in order to establish the first colony for Spain in a place called el Rio San Francisco. Spain was attempting to secure more land in North America and keep the expansion of the Russians and English to a minimum. De Anza was successful in his mission and lead his group over 1600 miles with only one death during the 8 month journey. The 1776 Anza Expedition in large part, determined the history of California and many prominent families from those first 240 are represented in the street names, counties and landmarks throughout California. The history of the Spanish is one topic that I want to incorporate into my Canadian History class in order to show the aggressive competition of the colonial powers and their influence on the landscape and First Nations of North America - my attempt to "remember"!
The rest of my day was spent going to sessions and hunting through the exhibitors booths to find useful things for my classroom. An arduous task for sure! In the midst of this, I met a young man from Virgina who actually knew where Winnipeg was. The Jets have made Winnipeg noteworthy again and he could not stop talking about the fans and the excitement of the team. Who knew that hockey would change our history and geography.
My final adventure in Washington was a evening tour of famous monuments. I recommend seeing these architectural marvels at night because the contrast between the lit white buildings with a black backdrop is spectacular. The Lincoln Memorial acts as a beacon and one can see the 22 ft high president from far off; in contrast, the Korean war memorial with its 19 life-size statues at night brings chills to the back of your neck. My favourite memorial was the brand new Martin Luther King Jr. which was just completed in October. The stones of 'despair' and 'hope', combined with quotes and a massive statue of King himself was awe-inspiring. The city of Washington does a great job of remembering significant people and events of the past, immortalizing them in stone and displaying them for all to see. But it makes me wonder what treasures, large or small, lie hidden in the ground or in a dusty corner of one of the 19 buildings of the Smithsonian that one will never see.