Native American Boarding Schools & F o r c e d A s s i m i l a t i o n

ederal Indian policy in the late 1800s and early 1900s sought to use schoolhouses,

specifically boarding schools, as instruments for assimilating Indian youth to American ways of thinking and living. Policy makers reasoned that only by removing Indian children from their homes

for extended periods of time, could white “civilization” take root while childhood memories of “savagism” gradually faded to the point of extinction. Not only were private boarding schools established, so too were reservation boarding schools. The goal of such schools was to teach Indian children the skills necessary to function effectively in American society. However, in the name of uplifting, civilizing, and assimilating the Plains Indians, these schools took Native American children away from their families and tribes, and sought to strip them of their cultural heritage. Academically, the schools were lacking. Where available, documentation shows that, at best, only half the “school” day was spent in traditional academic instruction. The rest of the time was occupied by religious teaching, which was regarded as the primary “academic” task by school officials, and hard labor, which in various ways was used to offset the costs of operating the schools. The children’s time was carefully monitored. Recreational time was rarely allowed. In 1879, the government set up the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in an abandoned military barracks in Carlisle, PA. The Carlisle School was the first major non-reservation boarding school for American Indians. Army officer Richard Henry Pratt was in charge of the school, which was comprised of 139 students from the Rosebud, Pine Ridge, and other reservations. Pratt’s motto was, “Kill the Indian and save the man.” The Carlisle School was to be a model for education of the American Indian as its mission proclaimed, “To civilize the Indian, get him into civilization. To keep him civilized, let him stay.” Students were given new “civilized” names and uniforms. Their hair was cut short, their heads washed with kerosene and their bodies scrubbed with lye. Discipline was strict, and students were forbidden to speak their own languages or practice tribal religions. The school graduated its students half way between the grammar and high school grades of the public schools. The plan was to teach the pupils some industry while their literary education

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supposedly moved forward. Shops for mechanical instruction of the boys were established and opportunities were provided to teach girls domestic and homemaking skills. By the time the “noble experiment” at Carlisle ended in 1918, over 10,000 children had been through the school. Less than 8% graduated while well over twice that many ran away. The school is well remembered for its star football player, Jim Thorpe, and its team the Carlisle Indians, coached by Glenn Scobey “Pop” Warner.

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Questions (Answer on a separate sheet of paper.)

1. Look at the top two photographs of the same Native American boy pictured both before he went to the Carlisle School and after. What specific changes do you see?

2. Define the word assimilate. How did Indian boarding schools force Native Americans to

assimilate into the dominant, American culture? Include at least three specific examples that show how boarding schools demonstrated the strategy of forced assimilation when confronting Native American culture.

3. Rather than traditional studies, what was the primary “academic” task according to most

school officials at Indian Boarding schools?

4. Where was the first major non-reservation boarding school for American Indians? When did it open?

5. Ethnocentrism is defined as: evaluating other people’s and cultures according to the

standards of one’s own culture. In other words, viewing one’s own culture as being superior and others as being inferior. Explain how Army officer Richard Henry Pratt displayed an attitude of ethnocentrism when he said of his philosophy at the Carlisle School, “Kill the Indian, and save the man.”

6. Overall, how successful was the Carlisle School?