More Views on “Indian Schools”

Richard Henry Pratt stated the main focus of Carlisle Indian Industrial School was to, “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” Since the opening of Native American boarding schools there have been a multitude of thoughts surrounding the purpose of these institutions and their impacts on Native American communities. There are two major schools of thought surrounding the topic of assimilation efforts on Indigenous American children through the use of boarding schools. These schools are broken down into historians who argue both the pros and cons of boarding schools, and those who believe these schools were entirely negative.

In his 1995 book Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 David Wallace Adams argues that boarding schools contained elements of both positive and negative experiences for Native American children. His book explores the boarding school experience from the perspective of staff, government officials, and Native American students and their families. Through these multiple perspectives Adams is able to express his own view that boarding schools were seen as the humane means of assimilation by reformers of the day. He also believes that boarding schools were looked at differently within Native American communities, with some individuals believing they were helpful and others seeing the extreme harm to their traditional way of life.

David Dejong shares Adams’ view in his 2007 article “‘Unless They Are Kept Alive’: Federal Indian Schools and Student Health, 1878-1918.” Dejong believes the goal was not malicious on the part of reformers of the day. He recounts examples of correspondences from boarding school leaders who asked for more public assistance in keeping Native American children healthy while they attended school. The goals of assimilation could not be attained if children were sick and dying. In 2016 John Gram wrote the article “Acting Out Assimilation” that also shows a dualistic view of Native American boarding schools. Gram reviews productions put on by Native American students at boarding schools, and tells how these plays were remembered fondly by students who participated. However, Gram also notes that these productions were a way for Native American pupils to play an active role in acting out lessons of assimilation taught by boarding schools. For example, in a graduation ceremony at the Santa Fe Indian School, students put on a play telling a fictionalized version of the story of Pocahontas, a Native American girl who acted “correctly” to the appearance of Whites and assimilated into European culture. It is important to note that none of these authors argue that boarding schools were entirely positive, they all show examples of experiences Native American students had that were both positive and negative.

The other major school of thought regarding assimilation efforts of boarding schools revolves around them being entirely negative for Native American students and communities. This opinion is expressed by Andrea Smith in her 2004 article “Boarding School Abuses, Human Rights, and Reparations.” In this article Smith argues that boarding schools harmed many Native American children through emotional, sexual, and physical abuses that warrant acknowledgment and reparations by the United States government. Ann Picard agrees with this sentiment in her 2013-2014 article “Death by Boarding School: The Last Acceptable Racism and the United States’ Genocide of Native Americans.” Picard relies on stories of abuses that occurred in Native American boarding schools to argue that these human rights violations continue to impact American Indian communities today. In this article Picard also speaks about the Boarding School Healing Project which aims to help survivors and their families receive support, closure, and reparations. Brenda Child also sees no positives in the boarding school system. In her 2018 article “The Boarding School as Metaphor” Child argues that the impacts Native American boarding schools had on tribal communities are still widely felt today and contribute to continued cycles of abuse, poverty, and generational trauma. Child also argues that assimilation efforts were not successful, as Native American communities persist today and teach their traditional ways of life.

Despite the efforts to assimilate Native American children, Native cultures are still alive and well today. These communities have survived one tragedy after another, yet they are resilient. Boarding schools and forced assimilation show us the dark side of United States history, however the persistent nature of indigenous communities teaches us coming together as one to heal from our past is possible.

More Views on “Indian Schools”

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