TheRundown:NorthAmerica

ByMichaelaChen

However, this notion is mistaken, and Indians continued to be ostracized by American society. White Americans viewed the natives as inferior, and soon came up with a plan to “lift” them from their perceived lesser position. This plan was simple: to send Indian children to boarding schools that were located outside of the reservation premises. They would be taught to speak English, made to wear Western clothing, and brought up into “civilized” society.

A prominent leader in this effort was Col Richard Henry Pratt, who famously said the line that summed up all the government’s assimilation efforts: “Kill the Indian, save the Man”. In keeping with this vision, he established the Carlisle Indian School in 1879, which would enrol around ten thousand Indian students throughout the course of its run To the US government and the white population of America, schools like these were a perfect solution to the “problem” of indigenous peoples. But for the Indians, these projects stripped them of their culture, traditions, language, and identity And although the schools were meant to “assist” the children, the school’s conditions were poor, showing the extent to which the government truly cared about the natives.

Living in these harsh conditions, students started to die from sweeping epidemics and malnutrition. By the time of its closing in 1918, hundreds of Indian children had died and been buried in unmarked graves, often without the knowledge of their distant family. The legacy of American Indians is one that is easily forgotten and dismissed. Looking back, it is easy to see why. The US government has long tried to erase Indians’ history and cover up their identity. But even so, pieces remain, and those pieces have a powerful story to tell