This post gives a brief overview of the history of the land on which Macalester’s campus stands. It discusses when and how Macalester College came to be considered the owner of this land and how that process reflects Mac’s place in discussions of settler colonialism.
Letter from Edward D. Neill to Hon. N. G. Taylor: “Effort and Failure to Civilize the Aborigines”
In this excerpt from an 1868 letter, Edward Neill argues in vitriolically racist terms that the United States and Minnesota governments should not recognize Ojibwe nationhood but should impose assimilationist terms on US-Ojibwe relations. Neill generalizes these views to include all Native peoples and nations with which the United States interacts.
Charles J. Turck, “Religious Faith a Cornerstone”
“Religious Faith a Cornerstone” is an excerpt from a series of reflective texts from then-President Charles J. Turck to the Macalester community. In this one-page note, Turck describes what he sees as the role of Christianity and religious faith more broadly at Macalester.
TMW: Mac Supports UN
The front page of the May 12, 1950 edition of The Mac Weekly shows a large image of three people raising the UN flag below the American flag on Macalester’s flagpole. The caption reads “MAC SUPPORTS UN–Two flags now fly above Mac’s campus. The UN flag was raised to symbolize the interest of our college in the United Nations and world peace. Raising the flag are Dr. Charles J. Turck, Dagmar Cebe-Haberska and Steve Babcock.”
PIPE History Poster
This PIPE History Poster is titled “Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with PROUD INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FOR EDUCATION!” It contains four text boxes with information about Native American history at Macalester. Each box contains a timeline from a different period: the 1950s-1960s, the 1970s, the 1990s, and the 2000s. Also pictured are images and news clippings depicting Native news and events on campus.
Macalester Indigenous/Students of Color Enrollment: Fifty Years since EEO
A color-coded graph shows the changing enrollment of Indigenous students and students of color at Macalester from 1967 to 2018.
Disorientation: A People’s History Tour of Macalester
Disorientation: A People’s History Tour of Macalester is a zine, tour, and website created by students in the Fall 2013 class AMST 294-02 Resisting Minnesota. The site is available to viewers with a Macalester login. The zine is attached here in printable and web-viewable versions.
Post About “Black House Newspaper Article”
This text is part of a collection of student work from the Fall 2017 class HIST 294-04/AMST 294-01, Public History: African American Life — Past, Present and Future. Students selected, described, and analyzed items from the Macalester Archives pertaining to Black history. The entire class collection can be found in the Fall 2017 Public History Class tag.
Post About “Dear Brothers and Sisters BLAC Publication”
This text is part of a collection of student work from the Fall 2017 class HIST 294-04/AMST 294-01, Public History: African American Life — Past, Present and Future. Students selected, described, and analyzed items from the Macalester Archives pertaining to Black history. The entire class collection can be found in the Fall 2017 Public History Class tag.
Post About “Catharine Lealtad, Class of 1915, Macalester’s First Black Graduate”
This text is part of a collection of student work from the Fall 2017 class HIST 294-04/AMST 294-01, Public History: African American Life — Past, Present and Future. Students selected, described, and analyzed items from the Macalester Archives pertaining to Black history. The entire class collection can be found in the Fall 2017 Public History Class tag.