https://youtu.

be/TNUeHU3iNJM
Native American Assimilation
Boarding Schools:
● Office of Indian Affairs (Bureau of indian affairs)
○ Offshoot of the war department, moved to the department of interiors
○ One of its jobs was providing education for American Indians
■ Through the “Civilization Division”
● The original school was the Hampton Institute, a school for freed african
american slaves
● However the first official Indian boarding school was the

Things to do:
-podcast edited and up on youtube by monday
-individually cite all sources
-come up with definite audience and mode of distribution (youtube and
social media)
-Talk to cooper: works cited, transcript?, ask about distribution of product
-by tuesday: finish website and prepare presentation
Ideas for question Links to sources Summaries, facts

● How did the U.S ● http://religion.oxfordre.com/vi ● The attempt to

government attempt ew/10.1093/acrefore/9780199
340378.001.0001/acrefore-97 assimilate native
to assimilate native 80199340378-e-394 americans
americans post civil ● https://academic.oup.com/ma through boarding
war and how are ghis/article-abstract/15/2/20/9
42658 schools in the
those effects still ● http://search.ebscohost.com/l progressive era
seen today? ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=eri actually fueled a
c&AN=ED124357&site=ehost
-live counter
● http://search.ebscohost.com/l movement of self
ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=fp determination
h&AN=93539892&site=ehost-
live ● The tactics used
● http://search.ebscohost.com/l by teachers at
ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=fp
h&AN=23103642&site=ehost-
these boarding
live schools included
● Education for Extinction changing the
(book)
● http://search.ebscohost.com/l native students
ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=fp names, dress and
h&AN=23103642&site=ehost- diet, as well as
live
● http://search.ebscohost.com/l cutting of their
ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=fp hair, suppression
h&AN=60198788&site=ehost- of tribal practices
live
● http://www.history.com/news/ and introduction of
how-boarding-schools-tried-to christian ideals
-kill-the-indian-through-assimi
lation
● https://www.theguardian.com/
world/2009/mar/22/native-am
ericans-preserve-language-a
merica
● https://indiancountrymedianet
work.com/history/events/colle
ctive-assimilation-resisting-full
-citizenship/
● http://web.a.ebscohost.com/e
host/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid
=11&sid=81477a01-db12-4fd
b-ad4d-52e352f7f287%40ses
sionmgr4007
● https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext
/https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=OGc357mgbtA&ibss=1
ED459989.pdf
● http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/vie
wdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1
013.3444&rep=rep1&type=pd
f
● http://www.ucdenver.edu/aca
demics/colleges/PublicHealth/
research/centers/CAIANH/jou
 rnal/Documents/Volume%208
/8%282%29_YellowHorseBra
veHeart_American_Indian_H
olocaust_60-82.pdf
● https://search.proquest.com/o
penview/e96e58c612c35d08a
f4d47381f389801/1?pq-origsit
e=gscholar&cbl=2031152
● https://youtu.be/Kybs1iR-VG8
● http://content.lib.washington.e
du/aipnw/marr.html
● https://www.npr.org/templates
/story/story.php?storyId=1651
6865
● https://www.c-span.org/video/
?190552-1/kill-indian-save-m
an-american-indian-residentia
l-schools​ (+the book or the
speech itself could also be a
valid source)
● https://www.ted.com/talks/kay
la_briet_why_do_i_make_art
_to_build_time_capsules_for_
my_heritage​ (
https://vimeo.com/189570347
her film about losing Native
Heritage)
● http://search.ebscohost.com/l
ogin.aspx?direct=true&db=a9
h&AN=87082925&site=ehost-
live

Thesis:​ The U.S. government attempted to assimilate native americans

after the civil war by placing them in boarding schools, taking away their
homeland through legislation such as the dawes act. As a result of these
measures, effects can still be seen today such as the self-determination
movement, and the extreme socio-economic problems seen in
contemporary American Indian reservations.
Script:
[INTRO] Hello, I am Matthew, I’m Emmett, I am John and I’m Georgia. We want to tell
you about an interesting and little known subject that falls on one of the darker sides of
American history. After the American Civil War, The US government enacted on a
series of policies aimed with the end goal of assimilating Native Americans into
American society. Cultural assimilation is the process of converting one culture into
another, and absorbing that group into mainstream society. Following the countless
conflicts and broken treaties with the marginalized native population, the government
decided to simply convert them to white American culture with Christian values. They
would achieve this by taking Native American youth and forcing them into boarding
schools, with the hope that at their young age, they could become easily convertible.

[GEORGIA] In 1879, the first government boarding school was founded. Created by
U.S. army officer, Captain Richard Pratt, the Native American boarding school was
developed with the end goal of eradicating all beliefs, morals, and traditions practiced by
these native people. Survivors of these boarding schools shared a few of their
memories... ​They remember being forced into government vehicles as their parents
watched helplessly. ​Although most were, not all Native children were taken by force.
Because most of the public schools were extremely racist, the boarding schools were
the only education route available for most. Upon arriving at these schools, the Native
Children were given haircuts, uniforms and “american names.” They were prohibited
from speaking their native languages and if caught they would face extreme
consequences. The punishments faced by the students at these schools were severe
as they ranged from beatings to being locked in guardhouses for days with only bread
and water. They were not allowed to be to be indian in any way as they were taught the
fundamental reading, writing, and language based knowledge of the English people.
They were also taught an extremely white biased point of view of American History.
Edith Young, a survivor of the boarding school process, reflected on a time in class
when she was taught that Christopher Columbus discovered america. When she
questioned this, stating that the indians were in America first, she was slapped across
the face in front of the whole class. She recalled that moment as one she will never
forget. In addition to biased views of history, on Memorial day, the students were made
to decorate the graves of the soldiers who killed their fathers. They were taught
European ways of farming and were given religious training in Christianity. After the
school, students were expected to return to their reservations and induce European
assimilation there. Others were funneled into jobs in white culture giving up all ways of
their previous life. As a result of these boarding schools, many Natives suffer from
PTSD and have no idea how to function as a family. Today few boarding schools
remain as a result of the shift in policy, lack of government funding, and the growth of
independent education systems on reservations.

[EMMETT] It is common knowledge that today, American Indians living on U.S.

Reservations face severe poverty and hardship. While some of the reasons for this
include the modern day labor market and capital inequities, many of the reasons can be
traced back to the era of assimilation. The Indian Removal Act and the Dawes act both
triggered irreversible effects on the Indian population that can still be seen today. The
lands that they were relocated to were typically those of poor sediment; unfit for
productive agriculture. Combined with the splitting up of lands due to the Dawes act, the
Indians were tossed into a new environment that they were not accustomed to. As
American Indian world’s were turned upside down, America as a nation was being
transformed by the industrial revolution, where urbanization, manufacturing and the
complexity of economics were all increased. Suddenly, in order to succeed in life, one
was expected to have a marketable skill that enabled them to serve others in some way,
thus obtaining capital. With little skills at hand due to their sudden change in lifestyle,
American Indians had little to offer in the new society and were sucked into financial
hardship that was passed down through generations. Due to conditions on reservations,
children often remained in poverty throughout their whole lives, continuing the cycle of
poverty. Today, American Indians experience poverty rate of 28% as a whole and 38%
to 63% on reservations. Life expectancy due to increased risk for diseases and
inhumane living conditions is significantly lower than the rest of America. For example,
Native Americans are 177% more likely to die from diabetes, 500% more likely to die of
tuberculosis, and 82% more likely to commit suicide. The unemployment rate is as high
as 80% on some reservations due to the lack of jobs and economic opportunity. While
contemporary factors that fuel the continuing poverty are at large, the historical
disadvantages due to government policy still leave their mark on reservations today.
Assimilation of American Indians was proved to be both unsuccessful for the
Government and harmful for the future of Native Americans. In the end, the only positive
effect was the rise of the self determination, but that alone does not justify this shameful
episode in America’s past.

[JOHN] ​After the civil war ended, the United States government began to move
Native Americans away from their tribal lands and onto reservations. Through these
actions native americans had their right to self determination systematically taken away
from them. Self Determination refers to the process by which a person controls their
own life. The United states government, through the bureau of indian affairs has
slaughtered natives, stolen their land, and attempted to destroy their culture, however
the Native Americans did not go without a fight. In 1890 some tribes initiated a
movement to preserve their culture known as the ghost dances. These religious dances
would last for weeks and were believed to eventually give the natives their land back.
More recently, in the 1970’s, native americans fought for tribal sovereignty and
self-determination staging sit-ins to get the United States government’s attention. Their
pleas were answered in the form of grants given to the tribes. These grants provided
public services for the tribesman in order to maintain some small amount of sovereignty.
Since this, there has been an even greater push for tribal sovereignty and even some
more acts passed by the federal government. This includes acts that improve a tribes
ability to create small businesses, police themselves, and run as a sovereign body in
general. The United States government took everything from these tribes. However as
time has passed, congressional support for tribal sovereignty has increased due to the
self-determination movement and hopefully this will continue.

Links

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=c140ac28-096d-47f4
-81ad-782ce0230056%40sessionmgr4009

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=16c72b0a-41d2-4d9
d-81da-0b85975a3d7a%40sessionmgr4006
[MATTHEW] The Dawes Act, adopted on February 8, 1887, was one of the most
important pieces of legislation in terms of Indian affairs in United States history. This act
came in a time of aggressive westward expansion, in which pressures on Indians lands
brewed new conflict between American settlers and Natives. Essentially, it authorized
the President to issue surveys of tribal lands and divide them into small allotments for
individual families. Only those who accepted the distributed allotments of land were
qualified to become US citizens. This policy stemmed from the varying ideals of
property between American Indians and white settlers. Indian culture valued the idea of
a sharing community and did not value individual property. However, the Commissioner
of Indian affairs, T. hartley Crawford expressed a popular opinion when he wrote:
“common property and civilization cannot co-exist.” As a result, the government adopted
the Dawes Act in order to destroy this aspect of their culture, weaken their tribal
organizations, and ultimately assimilate them into mainstream American society. This
solution to the so-called “Indian Problem” was even hailed by the heavily involved
reform groups as the “Indian Emancipation Act”. However, this legislative measure had
a lot of severely negative effects on American Indian society, including the loss of 90
million acres of tribal lands to settlers and railroad companies. But most importantly,
countless families and communities became divided, and many tribes experienced a
substantial loss of culture through this aggressive assimilation attempt. Fortunately,
public opinion towards the treatment of Native Americans shifted in the 1920’s and 30’s.
On June 18th, 1934, the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the
Indian Reorganization Act. This new legislative measure re-enabled Native Americans
to form their own governments, and it ended the land allotments created by the Dawes
act. However, the effects of the Dawes Act would continue on, and can even be seen
today. For example, tribes have still not regained their lost land, and many remain
scarred from a loss of culture and tradition.

Getchell, Michelle. “The Dawes Act.” "AP US History, Period 6: 1865-1898", 

Khan Academy​, 2016, 
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-6/ap
ush-american- west/a/the-dawes-act. Accessed 29 January 
2018.  
 
Picotte, Tristan. “The True Impact of The Dawes Act of 1887.” ​Partnership 
With Native Americans,​ 7 February 2017, 
http://blog.nativepartnership.org/the-true-impact-of-the-dawes-act-of
-1887/. Accessed 29 January 2018.  
 
DeBruyn, Lemyra. Maria, Heart. “The American Indian Holocaust: Healing 
Historical Unresolved Grief.” ​American Indian and Alaska Native Mental 
Health Research​, Colorado School of Public Health, Vol. 8, No. 2, 
http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research
/centers/CAIANH/journal/Documents 
/Volume%208/8%282%29_YellowHorseBraveHeart_American_Indian_
Holocaust_60-82.pdf. Accessed 29 January 2018.  
 
Ducheneaux, Talon. “Reservation Pavement.” ​Youtube​, TEDx Talks, 22 June 
2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch? 
v=Kybs1iR-VG8&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 29 January 2018.  
 
Otis, D.S. Google Books, ​The Dawes Act and the Allotment of Indian Lands. 
University of Oklahoma Press​,​ 1973, 
https://books.google.com/bookshl=en&lr=&id=R3xgAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&
pg=PP7&dq=Otis,+D.S.+The+Dawes+Act+and+the+Allotment+of+Indian+La
nds.&ots=wZ01JYFIuU&sig=WOtNAKEtPn8kr69jC5IEbnEqbBU#v=onepage
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ent%20of%20Indian%20Lands.&f=false. Accessed January 2018.  

Sawyer, Thomas E. ​Assimilation Versus Self-Identity: A Modern Native American

Perspective​. 01 May 1976. EBSCO​host​,
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t-live
DeJong, Judith A. and Stanley R. Holder. "Indian Boarding Schools and the Therapeutic
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Research: The Journal of the National Center​, vol. 13, no. 2, 01 Jan. 2006, pp. 1-16.
EBSCO​host​,
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Fliedner, Colleen. "Sherman Indian High School." ​Native Peoples Magazine​, vol. 24, no.
3, May/Jun2011, p. 50. EBSCO​host​,
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Inglebret, Ella and D. Michael Pavel. Curriculum Planning and Development for Native
Americans and Alaska Natives in Higher Education. 01 Jan. 2000. EBSCOhost,
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Cornell, Stephen. ”American Indian Self-Determination”. Working Papers, Kalt Joseph

P. Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, 2010, February 1, 2018,
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Collins, James P. “Native Americans in the Census, 1860-1890.” ​National Archives, ​assisted by
Constance Potter,​ ​Vol. 38, No. 2, Summer 2006,
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/summer/indian-census.html​. Accessed 29
January 2018. 
 
Davis, James. Roscigno, Vincent. Wilson, George. ​American Indian Poverty in the 
Contemporary United States. ​EBSCO, ​Vol. 31 Issue 1, Wiley Blackwell, March 2016, 
10.1111/socf.12226. 30 January 2018. 
 
Davis, Julie. American Indian Boarding School Experiences: Recent Studies from Native 
Perspectives, ​OAH Magazine of 
History​, Volume 15, Issue 2, Oxford University Press, 1 January 2001, Pages 20– 
22, ​https://academic.oup.com/maghis/article-abstract/15/2/20/942658. 30 January 
2018. 
 
Heise, Tammy. Religion and Native American Assimilation, Resistance, and Survival. 
Religion, Oxford Research Encyclopedias,​ Oxford University Press, Nov 2017, 
10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.394. 30 January 2018. 
 
“History and Culture: Boarding Schools.” ​Native American Aid,
http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=naa_hist_boardingschools​.
Accessed 29 January 2018. 
 
Kent, Jim. “Boarding School memories haunt Lakota man.” ​SDPB, ​Oct 8, 2012,
http://listen.sdpb.org/post/boarding-school-memories-haunt-lakota-man​. Accessed 29 January
2018. 
 
Lipka, Jerry. Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of Including Native 
Language and Culture in the Schools. ​ERIC Digest, ​[Institute of Education 
Sciences], 2002-01-00, ED459989. 30 January 2018. 
 
Living Conditions. ​Native American Aid, ​Native American Partnership, 
http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer? 
pagename=naa_livingconditions. 30 January 2018.  

Millich, Gretchen. “Survivors of Indian Boarding Schools Tell Their Stories.” ​WKAR: Public
Media from Michigan State University,
http://wkar.org/post/survivors-indian-boarding-schools-tell-their-stories#stream/0​. Accessed 29
January 2018. 

Magagnini, Stephen. “Long-suffering urban Indians find roots in ancient rituals.”​ Sacramento
Bee, Wayback Machine, ​June 30 1997,
https://web.archive.org/web/20050829051045/http://sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/na
tive/day2_main.html​. Accessed 29 January 2018. 
 
 
 
Emmetts links

Davis, James. Vincent Roscigno. George Wilson. “​American Indian Poverty in the
Contemporary United States.” ​EBSCO, ​Vol. 31 Issue 1, Wiley Blackwell, March 2016,
10.1111/socf.12226. 30 January 2018.

Davis, Julie. “American Indian Boarding School Experiences: Recent Studies from Native
Perspectives.” ​OAH Magazine History​, Volume 15, Issue 2, Oxford University Press, 1 January
2001, Pages 20–22, ​https://academic.oup.com/maghis/article-abstract/15/2/20/942658. 30
January 2018.

Heise, Tammy. “Religion and Native American Assimilation, Resistance, and Survival.”
Religion, Oxford Research Encyclopedias,​ Oxford University Press, Nov 2017,
10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.394. 30 January 2018.
Lipka, Jerry and Charleston, WV. ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
Schooling for Self-Determination: Research on the Effects of Including Native Language and
Culture in the Schools. ERIC Digest​. 01 Jan. 2002. EBSCO​host​,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED459989&site=ehost-live.​. 30
January 2018.

“Living Conditions.” ​Native American Aid, ​Native American Partnership, 

http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer? 
pagename=naa_livingconditions. 30 January 2018.  
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Possible citations to add: 
 
Strauss, Valerie. “Proposed Texas textbooks are inaccurate, biased and 
politicized, new report finds.” ​The Washington Post, ​12 September 2014, 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/1
2/proposed-texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized-new
-report-finds/?utm_term=.02b1cc7d9524​. 1 Feb. 2018 
 
Heltai, Gillian. “What Millennials’ YouTube Usage Tells Us about the 
Future of Video Viewership.” Insights, ​Comscore, 23 June 2016, 
https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/What-Millennials-YouTube-Us
age-Tells-Us-about-the-Future-of-Video-Viewership​. 1 Feb. 2018