American Boarding Schools : The Civilization Of The Native American Boarding Schools

People know about the conflict between the Indian's cultures and the settler's cultures during the westward expansion. Many people know the fierce battles and melees between the Indians and the settlers that were born from this cultural conflict. In spite of this, many people may not know about the systematic and deliberate means employed by the U.S. government to permanently rid their new land of the Indians who had lived their own lives peacefully for many years. There are many strong and chilling reasons and causes as to why the settlers started all of this perplexity in the first place. There was also a very strong and threatening impact on the Native Americans

Native Americans have been neglected, abused, and tormented since the 1700’s when their land was abruptly invaded by Europeans. Europeans declared this “unknown” territory to be their property from then forward and did anything and everything to make sure this would happen. This included forced assimilation, where Natives were stripped of their cultural traditions and forced to assimilate to an english speaking, westernized culture (McLeigh, 2010). This included taking children from their families and sending them to boarding school to learn a new language, new cultural traditions, and new religious practices. Starting in 1860 and lasting until 1970, children were taken from their families at a young age and often lost touch with their family

In the late 1800s, Captain Richard Henry Pratt set out to “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.”(A Plea to “Citizenize” Indians). The goal to erase Indian cultures and replace it with white American culture was sought to be achieved through boarding schools. Pratt was the creator of the first Indian boarding school: Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. These government-funded boarding schools would take children from their homes on reservation, often for them to not see their family again until they are grown(lecture). Pratt’s goal was to eliminate the Indian culture and incorporate the Indian people into the more “civilized”(Marr) American culture. This meant forcing the Indian students to speak only English and to give up all cultural traditions, religions, names and take up Christianity and American sounding names. Students were put into these boarding schools with little or no contact with their families for “eight to nine months of the year” (Marr). These schools operated with minimal funds, so the education was very insufficient. It was clear from the beginning; the actual goal was not to give quality education for the Native American children but to get rid of the Indian culture.

With waves of the American population moving westward, government attempted to assimilate, or integrate, Native Americans into American society. Their goal was for Native Americans to live and behave like white Americans, and for them “to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community” (Doc 9). Children were sent to boarding schools where they were given new clothes and haircuts, and taught English, Christianity, and American ways of life (Doc 13). While many Americans believed this would be good for the Native Americans, it effectively destroyed their culture and identity. By forcing them to learn English, they were unable to communicate the concepts, beliefs, and ideas their languages were based on. Americans did not consider the fact that English could not substitute for Native languages, because they are based on different realities, histories, and cultures (Doc 3). Assimilation turned the lives of Native Americans upside-down, forcing them to give up ideas and beliefs they had been practicing their whole lives, without any say. Slowly, Native American culture and lifestyle faded until it was nearly

Throughout all of Minnesota’s history, assimilation of culture has been present. In Minnesota’s early history (pre-1880), the assimilation of culture was sometimes voluntary and sometimes involuntary. This same trend continues in the modern history of the state (post-1880). For the Native Americans in the state, assimilation was involuntary and mandatory for them, and especially for the young Native Americans. One example of forced Native American assimilation is the “Indian boarding schools” for young Native Americans (Laliberte, Natives, Neighbors, and the National Game, 2010). These purpose of these schools was to ‘civilize’ the Native Americans and force them to adopt western culture, like English and Christianity (Laliberte, Natives, Neighbors, and the National Game, 2010). The process of assimilating Native Americans picked up intensity during the 1880s (Laliberte, Natives, Neighbors, and the National Game,

This was a very important report because prior to it, Native American children were being sent to boarding schools were their heritage was frowned upon. “Recommendations included building day schools in Native American communities and the reform of boarding schools for Native American children.” (Parkay, F. 2001) This report was considered a landmark one because of the issues it highlighted of the educational issues plaguing the Native American community at the

The colonization of the western world by Europeans and the subsequent attempts at the extermination of the Indigenous peoples in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was partially accomplished. Those tribes not extinguished were removed from their sacred lands and forcibly removed to distance places. Then the approach of the Westerns for those Native American Tribes still in existence was a systematic and institutional effort of assimilation. The Native rituals and languages were discouraged, sometimes violently, and outlawed by the Federal Government until 1934 with the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act,

Our nation’s history has been deep rooted in the conflict involving Native Americans, ever since the beginning of America and it is one hard to get rid of even as the days go by. The impact of colonialism can be seen in Native American communities even today, and it can only be understood through a cultural perspective once you experience it. Aaron Huey, who is a photographer, went to Pine Ridge reservation and it led him to document the poverty and issues that the Sioux Indians go through as a result of the United States government’s long term actions and policies against them. One must question all sources regarding these topics because there is a lot of biased and misinformation about Native American struggles, and sometimes schools do not thoroughly teach the truth so students can get an insight. There are also different sociological perspectives in this conflict, along with many differing opinions on how to approach the problem and deal with it. This is where ideas clash because people believe their views are right regarding how to handle it.

Yesterday’s class was not only alarming but new information. It took me a day to process the impact of the Indian boarding school. The American felt so entitled and obligated to convert and oppression others to conform. They displaced thousand and even possibly millions of native Americans from the homes, culture, trade, etc. in order to make them the American idea of successful. The Native American’s were self sustaining and independent and successful in their own way, American ideals and trade were not needed. Only after Americans had destroyed the land and forced Native American on reserves did they begin to need American skills and even then those American skills contradicted their culture. If they really just wanted to help and make Indians

Soon children were removed from their homes and placed in Indian Boarding Schools some of which were off the reservations. The goals of the boarding schools, which were run by the religious orders that were being paid by the government for the purpose of assimilating the young Indian population and desecrating their culture, were to Christianize Native Americans in hopes that they would accept our capitalistic system. “Kill the Indian…Save the Man”.

Instead they were filled with loneliness, disrespect and pain. These schools were founded on the premise of “education” by an Army office named Richard Pratt. Richard Pratt is known for saying "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one," Pratt said. "In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man." (Bear, 2008) “The intent of these boarding schools were to erase and replace, to completely transform people, inside and out. "Language, religion, family structure, economics, the way you make a living, the way you express emotion, everything," (Lomawaima, 2008) These people were forced to become everything the white people wanted them to be. They were forced to forget. Their hair was cut, they were bathed in kerosene, they were beaten, they were stripped of their Native names, they were treated as if they didn’t matter. They were treated as if they weren’t human. But for many, federal schools were the only option as public school were closed to Natives due to racism. In these schools, the curriculum focused mostly on carpentry for boys and housekeeping for

Prior to this class, I was not aware of the Native American boarding school and it was never discussed in any of my previous history classes. I think so few people have heard of the American Indian Holocaust because the U.S government still does not value the existence of Native Americans. It seems that what we are taught in secondary school are what they want us to know rather than what is needed to be known. It saddened my heart to know that this group of people had to undergo this horrible time period simply because of their race. I find it very upsetting that although the Native Americans ceded the land first, the Europeans came with force, claiming the land as their own. And felt they had the right to determine how the whole population

b. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;<br>c. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;<br>d. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;<br>e. forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.<br>(Destexhe).<br><br>In this paper, I will argue that the act of genocide as here defined, has been committed by the United States of America, upon the tribes and cultures of Native Americans, through mass indoctrination of its youths. Primary support will be drawn from Jorge Noriega's work, "American Indian Education in the United States." The paper will then culminate with my personal views on the subject,

Children were taken away from their homes and told everything they knew was wrong. They were sent to boarding schools to change their culture. These boarding schools were run by the United States government. The government's goal was to civilize Native Americans. They sent children to these schools against their will. Native American children were educated like Americans and they had to change their native ways to be more like whites (Cayton 266). Teachers abused their students and beat their native ways out of them. They were not allowed to see their families so they would try to escape, but their attempts were unsuccessful. The United States government’s Boarding Schools of the mid-late 1800s irreparably changed Native American culture.

"The highest and only true form of Civilisation is Christian Civilisation -as Civilisation without Christianity is only cultured Barbarism"[2] The Assimilation of Native Americans was a major campaign of the US Governments in the 19th Century, particularly through the establishment of boarding schools. The Carlisle Indian School was founded in 1879, prior to this Education of Native Americans was