6.2 Boarding schools and forced assimilation

Boarding schools were a dark chapter in Native American history. The U.S. government used them to forcibly assimilate Native children, tearing them from their families and cultures. These schools aimed to erase Native identities and replace them with European-American values and practices.

The impacts of boarding schools still echo through Native communities today. Generations faced trauma, cultural loss, and disconnection from their heritage. Recent years have seen growing efforts to address this painful legacy through healing, cultural revitalization, and calls for accountability.

Establishment and Goals of Boarding Schools

Carlisle Indian Industrial School and Its Founder

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• Carlisle Indian Industrial School founded in 1879 by Richard Henry Pratt
• Pratt developed the school's philosophy "Kill the Indian, save the man"
• School aimed to assimilate Native American children into mainstream American culture
• Served as model for numerous other Indian boarding schools across the United States
• Students forcibly removed from their families and tribal communities
• Children prohibited from speaking native languages or practicing traditional customs

Assimilation Policies and Practices

• Boarding schools part of broader U.S. government assimilation policies
• Policies designed to eradicate Native American cultures and traditions
• Schools focused on vocational training and manual labor
• Curriculum emphasized English language, Christianity, and American customs
• Students subjected to strict military-style discipline and regimentation
• Native American children given English names and Western-style haircuts
• Traditional clothing replaced with European-American style uniforms

Educational Approach and Daily Life

• Students taught basic academic subjects (reading, writing, arithmetic)
• Emphasis on practical skills (farming, carpentry, sewing) for boys and girls respectively
• Daily schedules rigidly structured with limited free time
• Harsh punishments administered for speaking native languages or practicing cultural traditions
• "Outing system" placed students with white families during summers for further assimilation
• Limited contact with families and home communities to reinforce cultural separation
• High rates of illness and mortality due to poor living conditions and inadequate healthcare

Suppression of Native Culture and Identity

Cultural Genocide Through Education

• Boarding schools systematically erased Native American cultural practices
• Children forbidden from wearing traditional clothing or hairstyles
• Native spiritual beliefs and practices actively discouraged or prohibited
• Traditional arts, crafts, and music replaced with European-American equivalents
• Tribal histories and oral traditions not taught, replaced with American history
• Students indoctrinated with ideas of Native inferiority and white superiority
• Cultural loss accelerated as children became disconnected from tribal knowledge and customs

Language Suppression and Its Consequences

• Native languages banned in boarding schools, considered "savage" and uncivilized
• Children punished severely for speaking their native tongues (physical abuse, mouth washing with soap)
• English-only policies led to rapid decline in fluency of indigenous languages
• Many Native languages became endangered or extinct due to generational language loss
• Loss of language impacted cultural transmission and traditional knowledge systems
• Created communication barriers between boarding school students and their families/elders

Forced Christianity and Religious Indoctrination

• Christian education central to boarding school curriculum
• Native spiritual practices labeled as pagan or devil worship
• Students required to attend church services and religious instruction
• Christian names often given to replace traditional Native names
• Religious conversion seen as key to "civilizing" Native Americans
• Traditional Native spiritual leaders and practices criminalized on reservations
• Syncretic religious practices developed as some Natives blended Christianity with traditional beliefs

Long-term Impact and Reconciliation

Intergenerational Trauma and Cultural Loss

• Boarding school experiences created lasting psychological trauma for survivors
• Trauma passed down through generations, affecting family dynamics and parenting
• Loss of cultural identity led to high rates of substance abuse, suicide, and mental health issues
• Disrupted traditional family structures and community bonds
• Many survivors struggled to reconnect with their Native cultures and languages
• Boarding school legacy contributed to ongoing socioeconomic challenges in Native communities
• Cultural revitalization movements emerged to reclaim lost traditions and languages

Residential Schools in Canada and Comparative Impact

• Canadian residential school system paralleled U.S. boarding schools
• Operated from 1880s to 1996, run by churches and federal government
• Similar goals of forced assimilation and cultural eradication
• High rates of physical and sexual abuse documented in Canadian schools
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada established to address legacy (2008-2015)
• Discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites sparked national reckoning
• Canadian government issued formal apology and reparations to survivors in 2008

Efforts Towards Reconciliation and Healing

• U.S. government issued apology for boarding school policies in 2009 (not widely publicized)
• Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition formed to address boarding school legacy
• Increased focus on preserving and revitalizing Native languages and cultural practices
• Some former boarding schools transformed into tribal colleges or cultural centers
• Growing awareness and acknowledgment of boarding school history in mainstream education
• Calls for federal investigation into U.S. boarding school sites and potential unmarked graves
• Ongoing debates about reparations and appropriate forms of reconciliation for boarding school survivors and their descendants