For more than a century, the government of the United States attempted to curtail the development of native society through a variety of administrative actions. Having devastated tribal entities through costly wars and forced relocations, American leaders finally sought to kill native culture and tradition altogether. This cultural assault came in the form of assimilation; a series of programs targeting the most vulnerable inheritors of native tradition—the children. Through a combination of private foundations and federal funds, proponents of assimilation encouraged the establishment of Indian schools. The concept was superficially and deceptively benign—re-educate native children in the Christian tradition. The actual objective was to kill the traditions that made native culture distinct.
The Roots of Assimilation
Many early American leaders felt that while native culture and traditions were inherently violent, native people could be made passive. The best way to ensure Indian passivity would be through guided exposure to European Christian traditions and the gradual abandonment of native practices. As far back as the colonial period, leaders within North America sought to re-educate their native neighbors. In the mid-1660s, Harvard had a special campus dedicate to serving members of the local native population. Dartmouth started as Eleazar Wheelock’s desire to train Indians as Christian missionaries. Assimilation as a government mandate began in 1790, at the urging of President George Washington.
Assimilation Delayed
As governments changed, so did the direction of assimilation policies. Missionary effort gave way to attempts to purchase Indian land. Failure to secure land led to invasions of that land. Wars of aggression and military occupation were soon to follow. In the end, the remaining tribes had no choice but to migrate to reservations in the western portion of the continent. Broken, scattered, and impoverished, these tribes did not fade into darkness. When all else had been stripped away, they still had their traditions. To those traditions they clung amid a world gone mad.
Establishing Indian Schools
Having tired of expensive warfare, the American government turned back to some its old themes. Revitalizing the plans of Washington and his contemporaries, the government sought to remake Indian culture. Targeting the young first, Protestant missionary organizations sought government grants to establish industrial schools throughout the United States. Promising to mold young minds in the Christian tradition, these schools were nothing more than government sponsored efforts to undermine native culture. More than 450 of these institutions were established between 1865 and 1902. The Bureau of Indian Affairs itself sponsored the establishment of another 26 boarding school style institutions dedicated to this same purpose.
Culture Assassination
On the surface, these schools promised to teach citizenship, agricultural techniques, and Christian thought. Native traditions were suppressed as backward. The founders of these schools engaged in a public outreach directed towards tribal leaders, urging them to send their children to learn the ways of civilization. Some were so bold as to suggest that the reason Indian society teetered on the brink of collapse was due to cultural inferiority. The practices adopted by these “schools” have been examined in recent years. In the final analysis, assimilation attempted to accomplish what years of warfare and containment failed to do. It was the last, desperate stab at Indian sovereignty.
Sources:
AP (November 4, 2001) Report Claims South Dakota Breaking Child Protection Laws. Sioux City Journal.com. Retrieved from http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/south-dakota/article_fb274574-04cd-11e1-896a-001cc4c002e0.html
Mark C. Carnes, Ed., U.S. History. (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996).
John Ehle. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. (New York: Anchor Books, 1989).
Jorge Rivas. (October 27, 2001) South Dakota Profits When Kids Get Thrown Into Foster Care. Color Lines: News for Action. Retrieved from http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/disproportionality_rates_of_native_american_children_in_foster_care.html
Lisa Sullivan and Amy Walters. (October 15, 2011) Incentive and Cultural Bias Fuel Foster System. NPR.org. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141672992/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-families
Carl Waldman, The North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.)
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
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