Colonial Indian Schools: A Brief Study

Knowledge is Power: A Brief Study of Colonial Indian Schools
In the early years of English settlement in North America, a push to establish educational institutions for Indians grew in an attempt to ameliorate the relationships between colonists and their neighboring tribes. Indian schools developed in several places, but most notably in the Massachusetts at Harvard and in Virginia at the College of William and Mary. For both institutions, the funding came from the will of Sir Robert Boyle, a well-known British scientist who wanted to contribute to society in “pious and charitable” ways. By creating Indian schools, Harvard and The College of William and Mary capitalized on these additional funds to sustain their institutions while promising to promote Christianity amongst local tribes. Although …show more content…
Unlike William and Mary’s Indian school whose students who were allowed to return to their tribes after their education was finished, the majority of the students from Harvard died very soon after leaving school or while they were still in attendance. Since the students were unlikely to return, there was no one to explain to the tribal leaders how to speak and read English to prevent further exploitation by colonists. All in all, the Harvard Indian School was a resounding failure both from the perspective of the English and the Indians. The English failed to fulfill their explicit goal of educating Indians and spreading Christianity and in addition they were unable to groom these young students to be translators. Although they were able to secure funds to sustain the college, the funds were likely not being used for their intended purpose which was to serve the Indian students. Moreover, from the Indian perspective, Indian students were not able to return to their people and use the information acquired at Harvard to improve the situation of their people unlike those at William and Mary’s Indian