A chapter of American history that often remains unsaid and unexplored is what the Native American population experienced in a very short period of time as a consequence of the deprivation of their lands by the European settlers. They not only lost their physical place, where they lived for generations but they were also forced to change their lifestyle and identity: brutally obligated by coercion to forget their own language and culture and transform themselves in “true Anglo Americans”, or better, Americans ready to contribute as “labor force” to the future of the nation and economy.
In 1879, Captain Richard Pratt while viciously supporting the idea that the Indian Americans had to completely assimilate the “white man” culture, established …show more content…
But photographs generated by Pratt, the BIA, or Frances Benjamin Johnston are not the only ones that tell the history of this massive social re-education approach. In fact, the recently found simple shots of the Sacaton school in Arizona also document the Indian reeducation program. These photographs are said to have belonged to a woman that supposedly worked at Sacaton. Not by surprise, these shots also contributed to known how the Anglo Americans strived to “civilize” Indian Americans often through abuse, discipline, and punishment. However, the elementary shots give more insight in the surrounding area and structure of the school, the atmosphere, as well as students and teachers outside the classroom. For example, Figure 7 gives an overview of the girl’s dormitory and adjacent facilities at Sacaton, Arizona. In sum, the history of photography is giving us an important insight in the social events that happened soon after the development and common application of photographic techniques, a close look on how our society developed and changed through
In 1879, Captain Richard Pratt while viciously supporting the idea that the Indian Americans had to completely assimilate the “white man” culture, established …show more content…
But photographs generated by Pratt, the BIA, or Frances Benjamin Johnston are not the only ones that tell the history of this massive social re-education approach. In fact, the recently found simple shots of the Sacaton school in Arizona also document the Indian reeducation program. These photographs are said to have belonged to a woman that supposedly worked at Sacaton. Not by surprise, these shots also contributed to known how the Anglo Americans strived to “civilize” Indian Americans often through abuse, discipline, and punishment. However, the elementary shots give more insight in the surrounding area and structure of the school, the atmosphere, as well as students and teachers outside the classroom. For example, Figure 7 gives an overview of the girl’s dormitory and adjacent facilities at Sacaton, Arizona. In sum, the history of photography is giving us an important insight in the social events that happened soon after the development and common application of photographic techniques, a close look on how our society developed and changed through