Total control of the Indian
children’s education was viewed as the most feasible option to achieve total
assimilation and the adaptation of a civilized lifestyle for Native
Americans.
The government, with
assistance from church entities, began implementation of the boarding and
residential school systems.
For the
children, separation from their families would reduce their families’ influence
and further the assimilation process. Some Indian people have managed to
survive with little to no repercussions.
However for the majority of Indian people, the boarding and residential
school initiative made more of a negative impact than all other efforts to
destroy the Indian people either intentionally or unintentionally, including
armed forces, starvation, disease, loss of land, and Christianity. The outcome
of this legislation was a vulnerable population laced with disease, death,
poverty, and other social ills, such as domestic violence, alcoholism, child
abuse and neglect.
[i]
In 1875 Richard
Henry Pratt was given responsibility of 72 Indian men charged with murder and
rapine at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida.
Rapine is the act of seizing property by
force. During their stay at the prison, these prisoners served as slave labor
to offset the cost of running the prison.
Pratt rehabilitated these men. They lost the appearance of being savage
and adopted the characteristics of the Euro-American population. The Indian men
were placed in jobs without guards.
Following this, in 1879, the Carlisle Indian Boarding School was
established by Pratt with support of the federal government. The boarding
schools were fashioned after the same rehabilitative principles, which included
the school attendants serving as slave labor to offset costs.
[ii]
Two boarding
schools and one orphanage opened in Michigan.
The Catholic Church opened the orphanage in Baraga in 1887, and Indian
children were the primary occupants.
Holy Childhood boarding school in Harbor Springs opened in 1889. The federal government opened the boarding
school in Mt. Pleasant in 1893. Numerous other boarding schools opened in the
United States and the Canadian government followed suit modeling the
residential schools after the American boarding schools.
Boarding and
residential schools were run like military camps. Indian children were stringently taught how
to follow orders. The children had to
fall into formation, march in a straight line, and oftentimes wore military
clothing and shoes. During the weekdays,
the children attended school. They were
taught English, math, history, and geography usually by Euro-American
teachers. Some of the teachers tried to
be kind and helpful, but others were cruel.
On average, only a few hours a day were spent in the classroom, and the
other portion was spent doing chores. The children received minimal care and
education. Students constituted the majority of the labor pool and did most of
the meal preparation, building repairs, gardening, caring for livestock, and
cleaning.
Learning how to
accomplish these tasks would help prepare them for adulthood in the white man’s
world because an only viable future was a white future.
Girls were prepared to work as servants or
to become homemakers.
Boys were trained
in the areas of gardening, repair and maintenance of homes and farms, the
running of farms, printing presses, and the building of houses and furniture.
Many of the children participated in an outing
program in which they were placed in Euro-American homes and expected to
perform tasks for their room and board.
They were forced to change the way they look and forget their language,
customs, and religion. Their loss of identity formed mixed messages about their
heritage and about themselves, resulting in contempt for those in power as well
as their parents and elders.
[iii]
Harold, a former
student who attended the Shenwauk residential school in Ontario, Canada,
reported, “It was really awful because at the residential school you didn’t
have a name. They put that number on your shirt.” Again, being treated as an inanimate object
released those in authority from any guilt for their wrongdoings. This can be reaffirmed by the pictures
displayed on the walls at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,
Canada. Children were shown in the
pictures wearing numbers on their clothing.
In the Native American tribal way of life one was not permitted to own
anything that was provided to them by the Creator. The land, food and other necessities were
bestowed to them to use and must be appreciated. The only thing that could be
owned was their given names. Only one
person in a community could have a specific name, and this name was derived by
spiritual means such as visions, dreams and naming ceremonies. Names provided their identity throughout
their lifetime. When English names were
given to the children in the boarding schools as a part of the assimilation
process, it led to identity confusion, which has also created a host of
problems.
Children who
attended the boarding and residential schools suffered from various types of
abuse.
Concerning sexual abuse, Harold
stated “I’m glad I wasn’t a big boy.”
The bigger boys were the ones who were hauled off during the evening
hours by the nuns and priests at the Shenwauk Residential School in Canada.
[iv] One woman reported she spent years in therapy
until she finally grasped the fact she had been a victim.
The shame and guilt she experienced as a
result of the sexual abuse she was forced to endure at the hands of a priest at
the Holy Childhood Boarding School caused her chronic emotional stress into
adulthood.
Nuns would
maintain relationships with young boys and these boys would become confidants
for these women.
Mentally healthy women
in their 30s or 40s do not fall in love with boys who are 10, 11 or 12 years of
age.
Pedophiles work in a way that does
not permit children to refuse.
It is
cunning, measured, and done under the pretext of fondness. These children were
used as sexual outlets. Once the deviant person tires of the current victim,
they dump them and prey on other unsuspecting children. Victims then often feel
abandoned. Children could not escape because these institutions became their
prison. There were held captive.
[v]
Another report
involved nuns at the Holy Childhood Boarding School who began their seduction
by kissing the younger boys good night. One of the abusive nuns was in her 20s,
rather plain and chubby.
The favored
boys would get kissed on the lips and she would tickle them.
Jerry stated that a few years went by for him
until the kisses started getting longer and longer, and then he was taken to
her bedroom.
Usually when the boys
became older around 12 years of age, they were taken to the nuns’
bedrooms.
One day, after Jerry was
pulled off the playground and had been forced to perform sexual acts, they were
caught in a compromising position by other nuns, yet the perpetrator did not
receive any retribution.
[vi] The children were habitually exposed to
“institutionalized pedophilia” and “sexual terrorism.” The pedophiles included,
but are not limited to, priests, nuns, and protestant clergy.
[vii]
The religious
instruction that was provided added to the confusion and degradation of many participants.
Oftentimes, they were abused in various ways by the very same people who were
providing religious instruction. Children who demonstrated resistance to the
teaching practices and the regimented authority were subjected to humiliation
and harsh punishments. They suffered
whippings and unusual torture such as standing on their tiptoes with arms
outstretched while their hands were hit with wooden boards and rulers. The treatment of boys was typically more
severe than that of girls. Harsh
punishments occurred when children tried to run away, although this did not
deter many from attempting to do so.
The boarding and
residential school environments are referred to as deviant subcultures within
the Euro-American culture. Very little
instruction was provided to prepare the boarding and residential school
employees for their employment. It was common practice to hire the dregs of
society who could not obtain employment elsewhere to work in these
institutions. There were some good
people who filled these positions, but their efforts were overshadowed by the
harm others did.
Three former
students who attended the Holy Childhood boarding school reported about some of
the harsh treatments that occurred at that school.
An excessive amount of emotional abuse was
inflicted on these children.
Jennifer
was beaten with a rubber hose when she wet the bed or was forced to wear the
urine soaked sheets in front of her peers.
[viii] Tim reported that he was called a “dirty
savage” by staff at the Holy Childhood boarding school, which led to problems
concerning the understanding of his own identity and as a result he struggled
with self esteem issues.
[ix] Kent had seen children at the Holy Childhood
boarding school who were beaten if they spoke their native language.
[x]
When the
children first arrived at the school, they felt lonely and isolated.
The harsh policies concerning the highly
regulated family visits caused children to suffer from homesickness.
Most children who attended these institutions
were separated from their family before they were developmentally mature.
Sheila, a former student of the Shenwauk
residential school in Canada reported that her sister was only three years old
when she was left to be taken care of by the staff at the residential
school.
She could not have contact with
Sheila.
Currently, both sisters are in
their late fifties.
The younger sister
requires medical attention continuously. Her medical needs seem excessive and
appears to be a way in which she garners attention. Sheila transports her
sister to her medical appointments.
[xi]
Indian children
were sent away from home from one hour or even further to attend the
schools.
Before 1957, Indian children
who lived in St. Ignace, Michigan had to be taken across Lake Huron on a barge
and then transported by car to Harbor Springs, Michigan. The Mackinac Bridge
was built in 1957, which eliminated the use of the barge system.
The expense of travel such as this was more
than most Indian families could afford, which deterred them from visiting their
children.
In 1924, the Native American
per capita annual income was approximately $81.
[xii]
Prior to the
1920s, boarding school officials would have to seek preapproval from the local
reservation superintendent or an Indian agent before permission could be
granted for children to go home, even for severe hardship, such as deaths in
the family and sick relatives. Indian
parents learned to get around these sanctions by stating that their children
were needed to assist with farming.
Since farming was a part of the assimilation process, it served as a
more worthy excuse. When John Collier
filled the position as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1933, these policies
took a turn for the better. Students
were permitted to go home for the summer months and usually for family
hardships.
Indian children
developed alliances with each other and looked after one another while
attending these institutions. Many of
these children had never met Indian people from other tribes. They also practiced pan-Indianism, which
involved the learning and adopting of portions of languages and cultures from
other tribal communities. Friendships
were often formed, some lasting the extent of their lives. They made fun of the
teachers and gave them names the students felt best suited their
personalities. On occasion, they snuck
out at night together and did things they knew they were not supposed to do,
such as breaking into buildings on and off school property. Sports, choirs, bands, and dances were other
ways long lasting friendships were developed and ways in which the children
maintained their sanity. Sharing
the common experiences of attending boarding and residential schools was
another way in which life long bonds were established.
When a child was
sent to bed without a meal, the other children would often sneak them food. The
children experienced what could be referred to as slow, agonizing
starvation.
School officials were
allotted very limited funding, which served as a strong indication of the lack
of importance of Indian children.
During
the 1930s, the Meriam report included the lack of fresh food and milk for
boarding school residents in the United States.
The average per capita food allowance was 11 cents per day. As a result,
students suffered from malnutrition because of the shortage of food. The Meriam
report suggested 35 cents per day for each student. This would ensure proper
nutrition and food supply.
[xiii]
The recommendations put forth by those who conducted the Meriam study were
often ignored. On another note, during the time the Meriam team was observing
some of the boarding schools, they made notice of the extreme levels of
quietness.
Episodes of intermingling and
comfortable conversations were non-existent.
Disease
also ran rampant in the boarding and residential schools with tuberculosis
being one of the most serious. Measles, mumps, influenza, and trachoma were
other health maladies. Trachoma is a disease that inflicts the eyes. Often, the
parents were often not informed about their children’s illnesses. Children with
these diseases and healthy students were kept together at the schools. Overcrowding was another issue. These schools were often filled to capacity
and beyond. Due to the lack of special
services and poor diets, the children often died as a result of contracting
these diseases. Neglect is another form of oppression in which a person is
deprived of love, care, nurturance, support, or other pertinent assistance, as
well as basic material needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. The children
were provided shelter and clothing; however, their other needs were grossly
neglected. They often experienced
failure to thrive. As a result, many Indian people associated these
institutions with death and despair.
The boarding and
residential school experience did prepare children to communicate with the
English speaking population. A high
percentage of the attendees had a difficult time returning to their home of
origin. Their difficulty fitting in with their families was a result of biased
instruction they received at the school, as well as the lack of bonding because
of their long absence. Much of the native language was lost, along with many of
the traditional customs. Many boarding
and residential school attendees did not return to the tribal communities. Instead, they joined the white population and
were acculturated into their way of life.
They worked at jobs on farms or in towns. Some moved to the urban areas and others were
hired by the boarding and residential schools as teachers, cooks, and caretakers.
Some of the
students were grateful for learning trades taught at the schools. Jeff, a former student who attended the
federal boarding school in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, learned how to be barber
while he was attending the school, which brought him money when he was in the
armed service. He was hired by his peers
while serving his country to cut their hair. The school gave him the confidence
to tackle things like serving as a meteorologist, which was also a part of his
career path. Jeff still carried
resentments towards his father for letting him down as a child, because his
father had a drinking problem. According to Jeff, he was also not a good
provider. His family was forced to move
to the reservation and the housing was substandard.
And Jeff did not
like the “outing program,” as he referred to it.
The outing program was when he was forced to
live with a family and work for them for room and board after he left the
school.
Jeff wanted to go to school
instead of being forced to work. On the other hand, he stated he believes his
attendance at the boarding school paved the way for a better life for him and
he was more than happy to leave the disappointment behind, his family of
origin. His family’s poverty due to his father’s alcoholism and additional poor
conditions, such as substandard housing, was difficult for Jeff to endure
during his childhood. The school afforded better housing, regular meals, and
future job opportunities.
[xiv]
A vast number of
Indian children were released from the boarding and residential schools when
they were ready to attend high school.
After spending years of following the stringent rules at the schools,
they had to try and fit in with their families and the outside world.
They were not taught how to think for themselves.
Teenagers often have difficulty making smart
choices.
During the late teens, the
brain begins to develop its prefrontal cortex and inferior cortex, the areas
that supervise judgment and self-control.
This process is not completed until the mid-twenties.
As a result, teenagers and young adults are
subject to making bad judgments, lack inhibitory control, and have a likelihood
of developing addictive behaviors.
However; these susceptibilities can be lessened if they receive caring
support.
[xv]
Most of the
teenagers who left these institutions were not welcomed by their families. The years of separation and the vast
differences these attendees had with their families caused them to feel
alienated and the needed support and guidance was nonexistent. A large number of Native American people are
living with regrets that resulted from making poor choices when they were
teenagers and young adults. Many Indian people married individuals that
mirrored the caregivers at these institutions and ended up in loveless
relationships or divorce. The negative impact of these harsh environments
resonate throughout tribal communities today.
[i] Child,
B. (2000). Boarding School Seasons:
American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Nebraska:
University of Nebraska Press, 43. .
[ii]
Reyhner, J. and Eder, J. (2004). American Indian Education: A History. Oklahoma:
University of Oklahoma Press, 134 – 140.
[iii]
Archuleta,M., Child, B., and Lomawaima, T. (2000). Away
from Home: American Boarding School Experiences 1879-2000. Arizona: Heard Museum.
[iv] An
interview was conducted in 2009. Harold is a member of the First Nations Tribe
in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada who attended the Shenwauk Residential
School in the 1950’s. He was given a
number which was 59 for most of the time he attended. The importance of being given a number and
importance not placed on one’s name is paramount. The name was the only thing
an Indian person owned and special ceremonies were attached to receiving one’s
given name.
[v] Stanton,
A. (July 7, 2008). Northern Express. Wounded Souls. By Anne Stanton. Retrieved on September 9, 2008 from http://www.northernexprss.com/editorial/features.asp?id=3241.
[vi]
Stanton, A. (June 30, 2008). Northern Express.
Unholy Childhood. Retrieved on
September 9, 2008 from
http://www.northernexprss.com/editorial/features.asp?id=3240.
[vii]
Churchill, W. (2004). Kill the Indian, Save the Man. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 62.
[viii] An
interview was conducted with Jennifer in 2001. She is a member of the Sault
Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and attended the Holy Childhood boarding
school located in Harbor Springs, Michigan in the 1940’s.
[ix] An
interview with Tim was conducted in 2001. He is a member of the Sault Ste.
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and attended the Holy Childhood Boarding School
in Harbor Springs, Michigan during the 1960s. Tim claimed that being at the
boarding school made him very ill for a long time.
[x] An
interview was conducted with Kent in 2001. He is a member of the Sault Ste.
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and attended the Holy Childhood boarding school
in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.
During an interview, he claimed that he suffers from fear of the dark as
the result an incident in which he was locked in the dark basement.
[xi] An
interview with Sheila was conducted in 2009.
Sheila attended the Shenwauk Residential School in Canada during the
1960s.
[xii] Child,
B. (2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 45.
[xiv] An
interview was conducted with Jeff in 2001. He had a lot to say about his
experience at the federal boarding school in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. Jeff relayed that he does not regret having
been sent to that school. The school,
according to Jeff, afforded him with financial opportunities and got him away
from his father who appeared to have had problems with alcohol.
[xv] Kipper,
D. and Whitney, S. (2010). The Addiction
Solution. New York: Rodale, Inc.,
239.
