Institutions
Among the North American Indians, the Indian boarding school movement began in the post civil war era when the Americans turned their attention to the troubles of Indian people. Many Americans believed that with proper education and treatment Indians could become just as civilized as other citizens. The boarding schools were a practice of removing Native American children from their home, families, and reservations. By forcing children into the education system, they also forced them to adopt American culture in efforts that they would conform to society. Americans believed that this would only be possible by isolating the children. Therefore the children were placed away from their reservations (sometimes even in different states), their parents, home, culture, and language. The first Indian boarding school was created by Richard Henry Pratt. In 1879, he established Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Pratt was one of the leading supporters of assimilation through education policy. Pratt also believed that Native Americans were actually capable of being civilized and educated, but only if they were taken away from their Native American customs and traditions, which was not an easy task because they were so accustomed to their way of life.[1]
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Pratt originally wanted to demolish all of the Indian cultural foundations which he phrased “savage languages” “primitive superstitious” & “uncivilized cultures” and tried to replace them with American morals, beliefs, Christian values and a civilization of white men.[2] In order to attain his goal he established the very first off-reservation Indian boarding school, Carlisle Institute. Here he felt he could remove young Indian from their native culture by refashioning them as members of mainstream life and the “American way of life”, he would be successful in civilizing them. Pratt had a general thought and always said “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man”.[3] Meaning, that if American customs and traditions were imposed on Native American students, it would ultimately destroy the inner Indian spirit within them. This was the only way he felt he could save "the man" inside of them. Soon after Richard Henry Pratt created the Carlisle Institute, many more boarding schools were created, some of which were on-reservations but the majority were still off-reservation. All of these new institutes followed his lead and beliefs by trying to destroy Native American's culture.[4]
The Sherman Institute
In southern California, The Bureau of Indian Affairs opened the doors of Sherman Institute for Native Americans. Originally in 1892 this institute was established under the name of Perris Indian School which was in Perris, California which later was re-located to Riverside, California, in 1903 and the name of the institute was changed to The Sherman Institute (Sherman Indian High School). Originally Sherman Institute was another school ten miles away from Perris and later on when the first building was under construction at Sherman the congress decided to example it along with Perris Indian School and just call it The Sherman Institute.[5] A Navajo named Lucy Toledo who went to Sherman Institute in the late 1800's said "it wasn't really about education". As said by Toledo students there didn't really learn any basic concepts in Math or English, such as parts of speech in grammar etc. This is originally what they should be learning at the boarding schools. Young girls at Sherman Indian boarding school mostly received instructions regarding how to be a proper housekeeper, babysitter or some specific cultural domestic ideals.[6] At first, in 1892 the government provided domestic curriculum for females to decrease operational costs. But the era from 1900 on, the faculty and administration at Sherman Institute started engaging in gendered cultural adjustments of female student body and started improving academic careers.[7] In California there were several Indian Boarding schools, but in Southern California Sherman Indian Institute is one of many schools that still exists in today’s day, still located in Riverside, California. In 1902, the first class of students graduated from Sherman Indian Institute.[8]
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Pratt originally wanted to demolish all of the Indian cultural foundations which he phrased “savage languages” “primitive superstitious” & “uncivilized cultures” and tried to replace them with American morals, beliefs, Christian values and a civilization of white men.[2] In order to attain his goal he established the very first off-reservation Indian boarding school, Carlisle Institute. Here he felt he could remove young Indian from their native culture by refashioning them as members of mainstream life and the “American way of life”, he would be successful in civilizing them. Pratt had a general thought and always said “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man”.[3] Meaning, that if American customs and traditions were imposed on Native American students, it would ultimately destroy the inner Indian spirit within them. This was the only way he felt he could save "the man" inside of them. Soon after Richard Henry Pratt created the Carlisle Institute, many more boarding schools were created, some of which were on-reservations but the majority were still off-reservation. All of these new institutes followed his lead and beliefs by trying to destroy Native American's culture.[4]
The Sherman Institute
In southern California, The Bureau of Indian Affairs opened the doors of Sherman Institute for Native Americans. Originally in 1892 this institute was established under the name of Perris Indian School which was in Perris, California which later was re-located to Riverside, California, in 1903 and the name of the institute was changed to The Sherman Institute (Sherman Indian High School). Originally Sherman Institute was another school ten miles away from Perris and later on when the first building was under construction at Sherman the congress decided to example it along with Perris Indian School and just call it The Sherman Institute.[5] A Navajo named Lucy Toledo who went to Sherman Institute in the late 1800's said "it wasn't really about education". As said by Toledo students there didn't really learn any basic concepts in Math or English, such as parts of speech in grammar etc. This is originally what they should be learning at the boarding schools. Young girls at Sherman Indian boarding school mostly received instructions regarding how to be a proper housekeeper, babysitter or some specific cultural domestic ideals.[6] At first, in 1892 the government provided domestic curriculum for females to decrease operational costs. But the era from 1900 on, the faculty and administration at Sherman Institute started engaging in gendered cultural adjustments of female student body and started improving academic careers.[7] In California there were several Indian Boarding schools, but in Southern California Sherman Indian Institute is one of many schools that still exists in today’s day, still located in Riverside, California. In 1902, the first class of students graduated from Sherman Indian Institute.[8]
A Typical Daily Schedule at most of off-reservation boarding schools:
[1] H.L. Wells, “The Indian School Chemawa,” The West Shore, January 1887, Digital Collections University of Washington, http://content.lib.washtington.edu/aipnw/marr.html#foot1
[2] Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 13.
[3] Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 14.
[4] Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 15.
[5] Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 178.
[6] Bear Charla, American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many, Npr, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865.
[7] Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 178.
[8] Sherman Indian High School, March 5, 2013, http://www.sihs.bie.edu/.
[9] Norman Chance, Arctic Circle, http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/HistoryCulture/Cree/creesch.html.
Treatment Toward the Native Americans
The way students are treated throughout their educational career today, is nothing like the treatment the Native Americans had to experience in boarding schools. Throughout the history of Native American boarding schools, especially during the Reconstruction Era, there were numerous cases of abuse. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. At Carlisle Indian Boarding school, Treatment was so harsh that hundreds spent their last days there. From the moment they were persuaded to attend Carlisle, the abuse began. Joining the boarding school required extreme changes that were very difficult for the newly admitted students.
When students first arrived at Carlisle, they would cry themselves to sleep for weeks[1].Immediately after arriving, native men and women were required to cut their hair off. Their hair was extremely spiritually symbolic to them. Forcing them to cut it was very disrespectful. A young Native American girl writes, “Our mothers had taught us that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among our people, short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards!”[2]. They didn’t agree with this procedure but it had to be done in order for them to stay at the school. There was no chance for individuality at Carlisle. Their culture was slowly taken away from them.
Throughout their time at Carlisle, students were required to do manual labor. When they were not in class, they would be required to work most of the time. “…numbers were placed for different periods to work on saw mills, picking oranges, as hostlers, grubbing the land, boating, and whatever could be found in connection with their own necessities.”[3]. Sometimes manual labor was even used as a form of punishment. If they were to disobey the strict rules, punishment was inevitable.
Misbehaved children endured strict punishment from faculty at Carlisle. If they were caught speaking their native language or if they weren’t able to understand English, punishment was bright up. If they disobeyed any rules, they were forced to stand for a certain amount of time. Sometimes they would wash their mouth with soap for speaking their native language. They would also be sent to a guardhouse as the worst punishment. Some faculty would slap the hands of the native children with rulers, abuse from teachers was not uncommon.[4]
Adapting to all these changes was extremely rough for all these students. These dramatic changes caused severe health problems that eventually led to student deaths. There were approximately 175 student buried in school grounds and the ones who were too ill to continue were sent back to their families. Things like anxiety and depression, new climate, diseases, and poor health care were all contributing factors to these deaths. Diseases they had never had contact with diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox were all being transmitted. Most of the students were usually malnourished aswell. With no health treatment, these diseases were eventually fatal. [5]
The abuse these Native Americans had to go through was unjust. Throughout their years at Carlisle, they experience things we as a modern society see as excessive force. Although they did learn some basic knowledge, it was no excuse for the mistreatment they received. Although Carlisle was very rough, it surely wasn’t the only boarding school with bad treatment. It is good to know that most of this biased attitude has ended.
[1]Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 22.
[2] Zitkala Sa, Journals: Atlantic Monthly 85, no. 508 (1900): 185.
[3]Captain R.H Pratt, Journals: American Missionary 37, no. 4 (1883): 108
[4]Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006),20.
[5]Ibid.,20
When students first arrived at Carlisle, they would cry themselves to sleep for weeks[1].Immediately after arriving, native men and women were required to cut their hair off. Their hair was extremely spiritually symbolic to them. Forcing them to cut it was very disrespectful. A young Native American girl writes, “Our mothers had taught us that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among our people, short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards!”[2]. They didn’t agree with this procedure but it had to be done in order for them to stay at the school. There was no chance for individuality at Carlisle. Their culture was slowly taken away from them.
Throughout their time at Carlisle, students were required to do manual labor. When they were not in class, they would be required to work most of the time. “…numbers were placed for different periods to work on saw mills, picking oranges, as hostlers, grubbing the land, boating, and whatever could be found in connection with their own necessities.”[3]. Sometimes manual labor was even used as a form of punishment. If they were to disobey the strict rules, punishment was inevitable.
Misbehaved children endured strict punishment from faculty at Carlisle. If they were caught speaking their native language or if they weren’t able to understand English, punishment was bright up. If they disobeyed any rules, they were forced to stand for a certain amount of time. Sometimes they would wash their mouth with soap for speaking their native language. They would also be sent to a guardhouse as the worst punishment. Some faculty would slap the hands of the native children with rulers, abuse from teachers was not uncommon.[4]
Adapting to all these changes was extremely rough for all these students. These dramatic changes caused severe health problems that eventually led to student deaths. There were approximately 175 student buried in school grounds and the ones who were too ill to continue were sent back to their families. Things like anxiety and depression, new climate, diseases, and poor health care were all contributing factors to these deaths. Diseases they had never had contact with diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox were all being transmitted. Most of the students were usually malnourished aswell. With no health treatment, these diseases were eventually fatal. [5]
The abuse these Native Americans had to go through was unjust. Throughout their years at Carlisle, they experience things we as a modern society see as excessive force. Although they did learn some basic knowledge, it was no excuse for the mistreatment they received. Although Carlisle was very rough, it surely wasn’t the only boarding school with bad treatment. It is good to know that most of this biased attitude has ended.
[1]Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), 22.
[2] Zitkala Sa, Journals: Atlantic Monthly 85, no. 508 (1900): 185.
[3]Captain R.H Pratt, Journals: American Missionary 37, no. 4 (1883): 108
[4]Clifford E. Trafzer, Jean A. Keller, Lorene Sisquoc, Boarding School Blues (University of Nebraska Press, 2006),20.
[5]Ibid.,20