As far back as 1887, Native Americans were seen as uncivilized and were forcibly assimilated by the white man to adopt the white man’s culture. This caused many of the Indians to be forced into boarding schools that attempted to teach them American culture, Christianity, and English. In essence, it made them give up everything that they were. The schooling was the result of both a twisted parenting instinct and standard American greed. The Indians were told to value things differently, like the community and environment, in order to fit in with the materialistic American. Almost nobody was willing to admit that there was a “disastrous attempt to force individual Indians or groups of Indians to be what they [did] not want to be”(Boxer).
Like the assimilation of the Indians, pressing students into a single culture to be able to fit in total institutions is a horrible idea.
Total institutions, a place where a large group of people are cut off from the outer community, are dangerous places for society, that appear as great places filled with pride but end up causing more harm than good. “The My Lai Massacre” article and “What is the Citadel” article showed the disastrous results of putting somebody trained as a standard soldier or anything else in a different environment. “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy” article and The Lords of Discipline show the appalling personalities and character people gain from these total institutes. The terrors of forced assimilation are discussed in the “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy” Article and the book The Lords of Discipline. The problem of total institutions needs to be solved if our society is to try to stop setting students up for disaster, teaching them bad habits, and the requir...
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...to deal with even simple things like traffic lights and clocks. Many lacked jobs, got worsened life styles, and worse living conditions, the very things that they were supposed to be saved from. As a result, a large number of Indians moved back to the reservations. The motivation behind the relocations is thought to be greed, as they could make money off of it(Boxer).
Works Cited
Boxer, Andrew. "Native Americans and the Federal Government." History Today. History
Today, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
Conroy, Pat. The Lords of Discipline. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. Print.
"The My Lai Massacre." PBS. PBS, 29 May 2005. Web. 26 May 2014.
Reilly, Rick. “What is the Citadel?” Sports Illustrated. 14 September.
1992. Web. 19 March 2012.
Reitman, Janet. “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth’s Hazing
Abuses.” Rolling Stone. Web. 28 March 2014.
It had previously been the policy of the American government to remove and relocate Indians further and further west as the American population grew, but there was only so much...
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In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on was still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly began. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives.
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This program is part of the PBS series American Experience. In this episode, a critical eye is cast on the early efforts by Congress to "civilize" Native Americans. This homogenization process required the removal of Native American children from their homes and placing them in special Indian schools. Forced to stay for years at a time without returning home, children were required to eschew their own language and culture and learn instead the ways of the white man. Archival photographs and clips, newspaper accounts, journals, personal recollections, and commentary by historians relate the particulars of this era in American History and its ultimate demise. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
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In the 30 years after the Civil War, although government policy towards Native Americans intended to shift from forced separation to integration into American society, attempts to "Americanize" Indians only hastened the death of their culture and presence in the America. The intent in the policy, after the end of aggression, was to integrate Native Americans into American society. Many attempts at this were made, ranging from offering citizenship to granting lands to Indians. All of these attempts were in vain, however, because the result of this policies is much the same as would be the result of continued agression.
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Starting with the opening of the Carlisle Indian industria school in pennsyvania in 1879 native Americans boarding schools have historically played a large roles instriping redfinesing and discovering native American identity. During this early period of the bording schools the united states government established sevel schools as foligations under American Indian treaties. The earliestboareing schools for native American children were run by government paid religious associations with the goal to save the sole of native American children by having them assimunlate to eropean American views values and relgion. President grant himself said that the single major objective of the Indian educational system was “ the civilization and ultimate citizenship” of native Americans. The bureau of Indian affairs would later use this assumulation model in their own boarding schools. They wished to replace Indian culture with the primer and the hoe. It was believed that the children could be assuminated into American society by having them be fully surrounded by a Christian enlgish only enviromentmany. Children were forced to adent church service at times and certain school it took up over half of their time of learning. children were taken from their families and often send thousands pf miles away from their families to attend these schools often times they were literally torn away from their parent showever not all were sent by force some parents valentarly sent their children to schools often so that theirer children would have a chance to learn and find their place in the new evolving world. In the words of a kiowa apache elder “we in white mans world now. Today we got to go that way. Sadly many families also sent their children voulentry ...
In 1887 the federal government launched boarding schools designed to remove young Indians from their homes and families in reservations and Richard Pratt –the leader of Carlisle Indian School –declared, “citizenize” them. Richard Pratt’s “Kill the Indian… and save the man” was a speech to a group of reformers in 1892 describing the vices of reservations and the virtues of schooling that would bring young Native Americans into the mainstream of American society.
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In his essay, An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man, Apess states that “ I would take the liberty to ask why they are not brought forward and pains taken to educate them, to give them all a common education…”(Apess 563). The lack of education available to the Native Americans exposes them to being taken advantage of. Therefore, they can not defend the injustice brought upon them. According to Apess, “ if they had [an education], I would risk them to take care of their own property” (Apess 563). During Apess’ time, the Native Americans are not educated because of their skin color. Additionally, the Native Americans face severe opposition from the government in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. In most cases, they are forced to speak English and assimilate to be part of the main stream society. In modern day, Native Americans are experiencing some changes from Apess’ time. Although limited, they have the right to govern themselves. In some reservations, they have their own court system and