Throughout history and into today, Native Americans have been subject to harsh policies enacted by the United States government. Some of the most crippling policies came out of the Allotment and Assimilation era. This included the breaking up of Native lands, taking children away to boarding schools, and forcing private ownership of land. These policies pulled Native Americans into poor economic conditions and sought to destroy the traditional Native way of life.
The Dawes act was the first policy in this era designed to destroy traditional Native life. This act included provisions to take away communal ownership of lands and give it to individuals for private ownership. In lecture, each of the following land divisions were explained. A married …show more content…
The people running the boarding schools, like Richard H. Pratt, especially wanted girls to attend because of the profound impact it had on them (Devens, 2001). Native communities would be coerced into sending their children to these schools (Ibid.). The children would be put on trains and brought to an institution like the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania (Lesiak, 1991). Once the children arrived at these schools, they would be forced to give up their native language and taught to speak English (Devens, 2001). The children, thereafter, would be expected to speak only English. In addition to this requirement, children were forced to get their hair cut and wear Anglo-American style clothing (Ibid). The curriculum at these schools was anything but standard. As was presented in lecture, these schools were mostly about vocational training. For example, women were taught how to clean a house, make soap, sew, and produce candles (Devens, 2001). This was in addition to the many chores that the children had to do before and after instruction, such as milking and preparing meals …show more content…
This policy forced children to leave home for several years with little to no contact from their parents. When I compare this to my life, I can’t find any similarities. My mother usually calls me every week to see how I am doing. Being so isolated at my age is unimaginable, and these children were younger than I. The things that the children were forced to do, and the conditions that they lived in are criminal. For example, malnutrition was a widespread problem at these schools (Devens, 2001). The most profound impact this policy had on the lives of Native people was the systematic tearing apart of communities. When these children came home, they were likely rejected by their own community. The mental hardships this must have caused for both children and parents had to have been unbearable. Unlike the policy of allotment, this was a full-blown, forced attempt to change Native Americans into Anglo-American individuals. The schools had no consideration for Native customs or tradition, their only goal was to force new customs on them. I would never want someone else’s customs forced on me, and would never force my beliefs on another
The Dawes act was the first policy in this era designed to destroy traditional Native life. This act included provisions to take away communal ownership of lands and give it to individuals for private ownership. In lecture, each of the following land divisions were explained. A married …show more content…
The people running the boarding schools, like Richard H. Pratt, especially wanted girls to attend because of the profound impact it had on them (Devens, 2001). Native communities would be coerced into sending their children to these schools (Ibid.). The children would be put on trains and brought to an institution like the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania (Lesiak, 1991). Once the children arrived at these schools, they would be forced to give up their native language and taught to speak English (Devens, 2001). The children, thereafter, would be expected to speak only English. In addition to this requirement, children were forced to get their hair cut and wear Anglo-American style clothing (Ibid). The curriculum at these schools was anything but standard. As was presented in lecture, these schools were mostly about vocational training. For example, women were taught how to clean a house, make soap, sew, and produce candles (Devens, 2001). This was in addition to the many chores that the children had to do before and after instruction, such as milking and preparing meals …show more content…
This policy forced children to leave home for several years with little to no contact from their parents. When I compare this to my life, I can’t find any similarities. My mother usually calls me every week to see how I am doing. Being so isolated at my age is unimaginable, and these children were younger than I. The things that the children were forced to do, and the conditions that they lived in are criminal. For example, malnutrition was a widespread problem at these schools (Devens, 2001). The most profound impact this policy had on the lives of Native people was the systematic tearing apart of communities. When these children came home, they were likely rejected by their own community. The mental hardships this must have caused for both children and parents had to have been unbearable. Unlike the policy of allotment, this was a full-blown, forced attempt to change Native Americans into Anglo-American individuals. The schools had no consideration for Native customs or tradition, their only goal was to force new customs on them. I would never want someone else’s customs forced on me, and would never force my beliefs on another