By Kathleen Moore
Albany Times Union

New York is once again wading into controversy over new educational topics.

The state Board of Regents on Monday got a look at the new ways of teaching the American Revolution that will be rolled out by February in state parks in advance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Later, school programs will be developed from the same content.

The displays will include powerful new videos detailing the lives of unheard people from that time. One highlights an Indigenous woman who fought for the colonists in hopes of keeping her tribal land. After the war, Indigenous soldiers returned to find their land had been taken by their former allies. The Indigenous people were forced out.

“It’s this history that hasn’t been reckoned yet,” Indigenous public historian Heather Bruegl, of the Oneida and Stockbridge-Munsee, said in that video. “The colonists wanted that promise of freedom and they got it — with our help.”

The video ends with a black background and the words: “Since its founding, the United States has never upheld a treaty made with an Indigenous Nation.”

Two other videos showcase the stories of enslaved people who fled the Schuyler Mansion in Albany and other areas because the British promised freedom and land to anyone who fought for the Loyalists. About 3,000 formerly enslaved people who fought for the British and survived the war were given land in Nova Scotia.

There are 40 videos in total. They have not been released online yet.

Regents immediately praised the new pieces, but worried that they would get another deluge of criticism similar to what happened when they approved diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“We have social studies teachers on Long Island who are afraid to teach what we’re talking about here,” said Regent Roger Tilles. “There are things we talked about this morning that I’m afraid won’t go over well in some of my districts.”

Chancellor Lester Young Jr. said the curriculum requires courage.

“There is a major effort occurring in New York state to ensure that the real history of America is told,” he said. “We are the body that is responsible for the education of all students and it’s important we maintain the courage to do what’s right.”

Still, he acknowledged that there will be a negative reaction from some groups.

“When this board passed the DEI policy, there was tremendous pushback, the depths of which we have not seen in a long time,” he said. “A great American once said, every now and again courage has to kick in. A moment when you have to do what’s right. So I think what this board has to do is continue to lift up the truth and do what’s right.”

The new way of viewing the revolution, as designed by the state Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education and the state Parks Department, is called “the Unfinished Revolution.”

“The American Revolution, as groundbreaking and important as it was, was really incomplete — it did not include all residents of the colonies, did not include women as voters, obviously enslavement was allowed for decades, so how do we grapple with that history?” said state historian Devin Lander in the presentation to the Board of Regents.

“We developed themes for how to talk about that history,” he said. “Really the opportunity is to think about it as … not really the past. It’s connected to events to this day.”

The idea is to see the revolution as the impetus for 250 years of striving to meet the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.

The new videos, photos, narratives and other elements will be shown on “Revisit the Revolution” kiosks installed at parks throughout the state.

Locally, the kiosks will be at the Capitol, Schuyler Mansion and Peebles Island. They will be installed by February.

The Education Department plans to also create programming for schools and push for funding to bring students to their nearest state park to use the kiosks. Currently, state aid does not cover bus transportation for field trips, so the Education Department will propose adding that in next year’s budget.

In addition, the department wants to provide small grants to libraries for programming using the kiosk videos and other materials.