Native american boarding schools

Native American History
Prior to 1492, North America was home to over 100 Million Native inhabitants.
The number has steadily declined for centuries since.
Disease
War
Slavery
Loss of Land, Ways of Life, and Culture

The United States
By 1790, the United States was growing rapidly.
Government began to look to the West for more land and wealth.
The Question for the U.S….
What is the future for the Native American?
Should they be left alone?
Should they become citizens of the U.S.?
Do they have rights to own their Native land?

The Solution
United States government decides that Native Americans will be assimilated into white American culture.
That is, Native Americans will adopt the ways of the white men in the States.
How can this be done? Through Education.
Meanwhile, as land is taken from the Native Americans, they are gradually moved onto Reservations. Reservations are small areas of land designated by the U.S. government for Native use and habitation.

Assimilation by Education
The Schools
Adult Native Americans may not have wanted to adopt new ways of living. They already had their own culture!
The U.S. government decided that they would start assimilation with the Native American children instead.
If the children were sent to schools that the U.S. operated, they could be taught a new culture: the ways of the white man.
By attending school, children left behind the lifestyle of their family and learned a new way of living.
English
Writing
Math
Farming
Sewing, Laundry, Housework

The Boarding Schools
Boarding School: A school where students are provided meals and a room to stay in.
Three types of schools were constructed:
Day School
On-Reservation Boarding School
Off-Reservation Boarding School
Problems with staying on the Reservation
Attendance. Parents kept their children home.
Location. Children went home at night or on weekends and returned to their traditional ways.

Boarding Schools
Off-Reservation Boarding Schools are best
The government decided that keeping students at school for extended periods away from their parents allowed the best assimilation.
Students learned new ways of life:
English
Clothing
Eating
Trades, Skills
School Subjects
Native American students and white students were taught the same subjects! History, Science, Math, Band, etc.

Boarding Schools
Military Boot Camp?
The schools employed rigid routines and dress requirements
Corporal Punishment
English
Students were taught to leave their Native language behind
They were forbidden to speak in any language except English
Appearance
Students had to leave their clothes behind and adopt white clothing
Traditional hairstyles were cut, blankets taken away, animal hide shoes and clothes were replaced with cotton, wool, and leather.

Dramatic Change
After a short time at a boarding school…
Students were hardly recognizable to their parents
Students learned new skills and trades
Farming
Carpentry
Sewing
Students put their new skills to work
They were proud of their accomplishments

Goals
The government had sought to assimilate Native Americans by teaching them a new culture
If Native Americans shed their identity, they could exist peacefully in the United States
Were schools successful?
Children returned home and could not use their new skills, language, or clothing.
Many became frustrated; some returned to their old way of life

Right and Wrong
Did the Government do the right thing?
Who benefitted from the schools?
Were Boarding Schools the best plan?
What were other options?
Did the Government help or hinder Natives?
What did the Government want?
Land
What did Native Americans want?
Maintain their culture

Consider This
Where are Native Americans today?
How do they live?
Are they better off today than before the United States existed?