Philippine E-Journals

National History and Indigenous Peoples Histories: Integrating Indigenous People’s Histories in a General Philippine History Syllabus

Maria Nela B. Florendo

 

Abstract:

The teaching of Philippine history has been too focused on creating a national narrative unmindful of society’s diverse ethnic and religious composition. This paper juxtaposes national history on Indigenous People’s (IP) Histories without having to suppress the nuances of IP history. National history provides a context to the reconstruction of the IP past, but this should not homogenize (standardize) local, regional, and ethnic histories. National history and indigenous histories should not be perceived as antithetical. This paper is intended to be a teaching guide for instructors of a tertiary level general Philippine History course. As corollary, it could also serve to enrich the teaching of Philippine History in the K-12 Program. The treatment of Indigenous People’s (IP) Histories in the context of Philippine history should strike a balance in the reconstruction of indigenous histories, which should not be considered self-contained.