HIS206
Native Americans
HIS206
Pamela Forsythe
May 18, 2015
NATIVE AMERICANS The history of Native Americans has been a long and grueling one. Most of which has been plagued with pain, degradation, struggle, and horror. Even to this day, they are still trying to recover all that was taken from them. They struggle to regain and preserve their culture and lands that was ripped from them so long ago. Although there have been many events that have impacted Native Americans since 1877, the assimilation into non-reservation boarding schools, the Meriam Report, the American Indian Movement (AIM), and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act are among some of the more significant.
The assimilation into non-reservation boarding schools has had a lasting effect on Native Americans. In 1879, Captain Richard H. Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which was the first federally funded off-reservation Indian boarding school and quickly became the model for institutes all over the United States and Canada. The schools were set up as a way to teach Native Americans to be civilized, because they were thought to be savages, because there was a belief that the “white” culture was superior and needed to be asserted. The objective of these boarding schools was to “kill the Indian but save the human” (Indian school: Stories of survival, 2011). “Between 1880 and 1902, 25 schools were established to educate between 20,000 and 30,000 Native American students” (Barnes & Bowles, 2014). By the 1930’s most of the non-reservation Native American boarding schools had been closed, and their practices viewed as inhumane.
When the children were being rounded up to be taken to these boarding schools, they would be removed from their homes, loaded into wagons, and then shipped off to the schools. Often times, the parents did not even know where their children were being taken. According to the video, Indian School: Stories of Survival, it is said that when the children
HIS206
Pamela Forsythe
May 18, 2015
NATIVE AMERICANS The history of Native Americans has been a long and grueling one. Most of which has been plagued with pain, degradation, struggle, and horror. Even to this day, they are still trying to recover all that was taken from them. They struggle to regain and preserve their culture and lands that was ripped from them so long ago. Although there have been many events that have impacted Native Americans since 1877, the assimilation into non-reservation boarding schools, the Meriam Report, the American Indian Movement (AIM), and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act are among some of the more significant.
The assimilation into non-reservation boarding schools has had a lasting effect on Native Americans. In 1879, Captain Richard H. Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which was the first federally funded off-reservation Indian boarding school and quickly became the model for institutes all over the United States and Canada. The schools were set up as a way to teach Native Americans to be civilized, because they were thought to be savages, because there was a belief that the “white” culture was superior and needed to be asserted. The objective of these boarding schools was to “kill the Indian but save the human” (Indian school: Stories of survival, 2011). “Between 1880 and 1902, 25 schools were established to educate between 20,000 and 30,000 Native American students” (Barnes & Bowles, 2014). By the 1930’s most of the non-reservation Native American boarding schools had been closed, and their practices viewed as inhumane.
When the children were being rounded up to be taken to these boarding schools, they would be removed from their homes, loaded into wagons, and then shipped off to the schools. Often times, the parents did not even know where their children were being taken. According to the video, Indian School: Stories of Survival, it is said that when the children
References: Barnes, L., & Bowles, M. (2014). The American story: Perspectives and encounters from 1877. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. D 'Arcus, B. (2010). The Urban Geography of Red Power: The American Indian Movement in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, 1968–70. UrbanStudies, 47(6), 1241-1255. doi:10.1177/0042098009360231 Harjo, S. S. (2004). American Indian Religious Freedom Act after Twenty-five Years. Wicazo Sa Review, 19(2), 129-136. Indian school: Stories of survival (2011). [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=50410&psid=0&sid=0&State=&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID=&tScript=0 Meriam, L. (1928). The Problem of Indian Administration. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. Retrieved from http://narf.org/nill/resources/meriam.html Wittstock, L. W., & Salinas, E. J. (n.d.). A Brief History of the American Indian Movement. Retrieved from http://www.aimovement.org/ggc/history.html