The Carlisle Indian school began teaching Native American youth in 1879, all the way through 1918. Its attendance numbers spanned 12,000 Indian teenagers and children from over 140 different tribes, making it a model for the other 150+ established Indian schools at the time.
To help those of you who were just as shocked by this as me, I'll give you an inside look into Pratt's belief, found in a quote written by him, "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man". Pratt, and many others at the time, truly believed that the way to "save" and "civilize" the native Americans was to force them to become one with their American counterparts, he talks about the complete destruction of a race; a theme we see again later on in history. However, he doesn't plan on the brutal genocide of thousands of natives, no, he wants to take away what makes them unique; he wanted to eliminate their cultural identity and with that their history, the essence of being a Native American. And the Carlisle Indian school was successful in its method, it demanded that its students adopt American names, cut their long hair, outlawed the use of native tongues, as well as to abide by a dress code centered around American fashion. The school's goal was to completely remove all traces of Indian culture from its students, and when the children would go back to their parents each year, the school's success in doing so would be obvious. The children that had been born into a family, a tribe, with a colorful history behind it, sacred meanings and beliefs in the world, were alienated and isolated, forced to become "American" in the worst sense of the word.
Sources:
“‘Kill the Indian, and Save the Man’: Capt. Richard H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans.” HISTORY MATTERS - The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4929/.
“Children and Youth in History.” Omeka RSS, chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/291.
I loved your article. Often a comment starts with "I liked your article" for the sake of politeness, but I really did enjoy reading this. It was interesting how Pratt is so truthful and honest about his goal of destroying the Indian way of life. I also like how you differentiated between physical massacre and cultural destruction. It is also interesting to think about the schools cause. After all, education is good, but in this case it is much more complex.
ReplyDeleteI liked your article and I think that it is interesting that although Pratt did try and help Indians in a way uncharacteristic of other Americans, he too shared the idea that Indian culture had no place in American society. I also think that it was interesting how he used the schools to convert the Indian children into having more American ideals and traditions. Usually I think of schools as places of education and learning but this is a different example where schools were really used to brainwash the Indian children into giving up their culture instead of focusing on education.
ReplyDeleteI think your article is interesting. Ask deep questions. Is it worse to die or to assimilate? In that sense I think it trulkly depends on the individuals beliefs
ReplyDeleteI liked this article because it was informative and concise. I also think it accurately reflects the violent assimilation tendencies of the white school systems.
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ReplyDeleteI liked this article because it was informative and concise. I also think it accurately reflects the violent assimilation tendencies of the white school systems.
I really enjoyed reading your post, and I liked how you related Richard Henry Pratt's founding of the Carlisle Indian School to eliminate Indian culture to mass genocide. I think the quote you included really provides insight into Richard Henry Pratt's mindset. Many Americans at the time viewed Indians as savages and disregarded the taking over of their land.
ReplyDeleteI was going to write about this for my blog post, but I'm glad you wrote it instead. You had more information that I didn't know. Your comparisons showed really how extreme it was and now i know more about this school.
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