Rhetorical Analysis: Why Indian Education Should Not Destroy Indian Culture

Assimilation of the native Indians occurred in different phases. The United States in the early years adopted an Indian policy that they used to build good relations with the bordering tribes which helped politically and in trading with the natives. However, they reserved to stop the good relationships in order for them to acquire more land as the moved west to expand their territory. (Keller,1983)

Luther wrote about his ideas because he saw several faults in how the church was run. He didn't do anything for personal gain, but rather for the good of Christians as he thought the churches had taken away the bases of Christianity. For example, they started selling letter of indulgences, which is something he disagreed on majorly as it is never mentioned in the bible. Luther didn't think it was right that the church could judge you and grant you forgiveness if you paid them, and he thought the only one who could judge anyone was God himself. According to Luther, God didn't care about any letter of indulgences, only your actions.

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

These stereotypical binaries of the childlike and savage Indian are directly linked to the narratives of white settler society and colonization. Essentially, by classifying all First Nation cultures under a monolith of a few stereotypes the white setter society claimed dominance over the First Nation peoples as they created the lens through which the First Nation’s history and identity would be read. The influence of the press and government policies lead to the acceptance of these stereotypes as defining truths about First Nations people which aided the settler societies in solving the Indian problem by destroying what it meant to be Indian. In this way, the stereotypes not only developed the idea of assimilation to save the Indian, but they

“Kill the Indian and save the Man,” sounds more like something out of a dystopian novel than an educational campaign slogan, but in 1887 those were the words chosen by Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt to garner public support for government’s attempt to forcefully “Americanize” Native Americans. Native Americans that survived violence were coerced into wearing white man’s clothes, cutting their hair, and not speaking their native languages to “encourage” them to blend in (Reyhner). Sherman Alexie knows firsthand of the many lingering ramifications that these callous actions of violence and injustice against America’s indigenous peoples

In this paper I will be addressing my thoughts and emotions while viewing the movie Dances with Wolves. This movie drastically changed my views not solely on the culture of the Indians but also on the way White settlers treated them and promptly took whatever they wanted.

Daklugie, an American Indian who attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School later recalled, “we’d lost our hair and we’d lost our clothes; with the two we’d lost our identity as Indians.” The purpose of assimilation was to “kill the Indian and save the man,” in order to transform Native American culture to European-American culture. This was particularly prominent in places such as Indian boarding schools, where Native Americans were stripped of their cultural identities, and forced to adopt white American culture instead. As “friends of the Indians,” Americans wanted to assist Native Americans by ending their savage ways and assimilating them into white society.

This book has been a really helpful source of information on Indigenous peoples in the U.S. It beginning chapters were useful for information on the area category, and the last few chapters discuss U.S. government intervention onto reservations in an attempt to make positive change. However, even though their intentions of increasing Native education in the mid-1900’s, their ways of carrying out such “help” was oppressive and demeaning. These chapters, among other policies, discuss Native American boarding schools where teens from tribes were brought to schools, and there were forced to learn European norms in an attempt to diminish their traditional culture. This resources shows that even in the modern day, not all aid is helpful and intentions can be multifaceted.

The beginning of the piece starts off by talking about how many indigenous people have been forced to undergo cultural change, which has in turn cause many social and psychological turmoil. The piece switches into the history of indigenous people, starting with the conquerors coming to the americas, and the Naturalization Act of 1790. It than further discusses Indian removal programs, boarding schools, and reservations.

Education was seen as the key to saving the Indians and would be forced upon them if necessary (Calloway, 425). The adults of Native American tribes were the first target for this approach (Calloway, 425). However, the plan backfired due to many adults resisting the assimilation project (Calloway, 425). The next step was to go after easier targets; the children (Calloway, 425). It proved to be a haunting experience for the children as many were pulled out of their own mothers’ arms (Calloway, 426).

Talking Back to Civilization , edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, is a compilation of excerpts from speeches, articles, and texts written by various American Indian authors and scholars from the 1890s to the 1920s. As a whole, the pieces provide a rough testimony of the American Indian during a period when conflict over land and resources, cultural stereotypes, and national policies caused tensions between Native American Indians and Euro-American reformers. This paper will attempt to sum up the plight of the American Indian during this period in American history.

The book Luther The Reformer, by James Kittelson focused on the life, death and work of Martian Luther. Luther came from humble beginnings, born the son of a peasant. From these humble beginnings, Luther unintentionally created a revolution within the world of the church and an empire of Protestantism. Luther was not the person to start this spark nor did he want to create a new religion, rather his idea was to reform the church , but it was his views that were carried forth and spread. He was simply in the right place at the right time. Luther created a ripple effect that has shaped religion into what it is today. Whether we realize it or not, these teaching and views of Luther affect every aspect of our daily lives. The freedoms

Their actions do not outweigh their reasoning and beliefs. Their belief that, “ He lives only for others not for himself,” ( Luther 1) shows that, a ruler for instance, should refrain from acting justly in order to secure power. Instead they should act for the sole reason of helping the people they rule over. The whole excerpt is shaped around a persons belief in God. Instead of acting in order to be justified people should work for the betterment of others. “ I greatly fear that at this day few or no...functions are Christian ones,” ( Luther 4 ). Luther believed that Christian belief should be incorporated into all parts of a persons life.

The late 1800's into the 1900's were the most difficult years for Native American Indians, they fought difficult battles to protect their land. Many rules and laws did not support them and focused mainly on kicking them out of their own county, due to that many violent, bloody and crucial fights and wars begun. The Native American Indians were forced to leave their own land. Eventually, many of them accepted and adapted the new cultures of the European-American’s and accepted their religions as well. Assimilation is the ability to process and accept a different culture and become part of it by being loyal and faithful to this new culture. There are many factors that might help individuals in assimilation into a different culture. One is misunderstanding non-verbal signs and symbols, which means lack of understanding of a group of signs and symbols, which the society of that new culture understands, while the other factor is tending to evaluate to the new culture, which means having the ability to accept a new culture and leave their native culture in the past (P16).Knowing and understanding the culture may have a direct influence on the individual in accepting and falling in love with this new culture , whereas the lack of information about this new society may lead in not respecting this new culture. In "The School Days of an Indian Girl" was written by Zitkala-Sa who was a Native American who was forced by the European-Americans to study at a missionary school in

Martin Luther was a German monk, theologian, university professor, Father of Protestantism and church reformer whose ideas influenced the Protestant Reform, and changed the course of Western Civilization. Luther did not like the immoral conduct that was exhibited in the Church, so he composed the Ninety-Five Thesis which sparked a theological dispute that would result in the Reformation and the birth of the Lutheran. http://www.educationalwriting.net/resource_center/Thesis/Topics/Summary_of_95_Thesis_Topic.htm