Lame Deer, Seeker Of Vision Summary

What is the American religious experience? Well there is no specific answer to this question as everyone has his or her own perception of what the American religious experience actually means to them. In the book Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions discloses his own personal experience of the American religious experience and how it did not only just effect him, but other Native Americans as well. The difficulties he had to face were living a both an American and Native American life style. He talks about how Native American children were treated poorly in schools as they were forced to take in the American culture. In this paper I will argue that the American religious experience for Lame Deer was marked by assimilation as evidence of being sent to boarding school. In these schools they were taught the American cultural traditions. When Lame Deer was only just fourteen years old he was abruptly taken away from his family and placed into boarding school. …show more content…
Lame deer says, “The schools leave a scar […] we come out half red and half white, not knowing what we are” (27). Lame Deer mentions how the school leaves a “scar” this mainly due to the fact these children were being stripped of their identity by physical abuse. He mentioned multiple times how he was either whipped with a stick, hit with a harness thong on his back, and even being locked in the basement when he was bad. These extreme disciplinary measurements were used on the Native American children into assimilating the American culture. A “scar” is permanent mark and the torture Lame Deer faced will forever be lodged into his memory. When he states that they come out “half red and white” he is showing they are suffering from an identity issue as they are trying to incorporate both the American culture that is oppressed upon them and at the same time still trying to keep their native