THE CULTURAL SHOCK OF NATIVE AMERICAN BOARDING SCHOOLS
Native American Boarding Schools in the United States was an American effort to assimilate the Indian children, ages three through the teen years, into becoming Americans. In these schools, they would strip the children of their Native culture and introduce American culture. The American government would take the children from their parents to schools that were not located on reservation property, but rather on United States property. The goal was to transform the children into the American way of thinking, looking, and acting. They hoped by getting the children before they were too saturated in their native culture; they would have greater success in accomplishing their agenda. Many …show more content…
The schools were erected, and the assimilation began. The government and those for these schools could only see the destruction of the Natives and the rearing of a new and better generation of Indians, who would now be called Americans. The process began quickly to the approval of Americans, but to the Natives is yet another war and attack on their way of life. One school in particular was the Charleston Boarding School in Pennsylvania. The children would arrive at this school, and the boys would immediately need to have their hair cut. They were placed in school uniform clothing and stripped of their people, parents and their way of life. These children were forbidden to speak their native language, and their cultural clothing were tossed in the garbage. They were forced to cut their hair and dress as American citizens would dress. Many children were eventually unable to communicate with their parents because they no longer understood their original language. This school and others like it was intended to help these children become Americans. On the contrary, it proved to be a disaster. It was a failure. The children became victims of, not fitting into American life or Native American life. They were left with confusion about who they were and where they belonged. These schools failed these children miserably. The children who did survive this cultural shock went through life struggling to fit in somewhere. Many ended up on the streets, abusing alcohol and depressed. For some of the children, the stress of this cultural shock was too much to handle. Many of the children
Native American Boarding Schools in the United States was an American effort to assimilate the Indian children, ages three through the teen years, into becoming Americans. In these schools, they would strip the children of their Native culture and introduce American culture. The American government would take the children from their parents to schools that were not located on reservation property, but rather on United States property. The goal was to transform the children into the American way of thinking, looking, and acting. They hoped by getting the children before they were too saturated in their native culture; they would have greater success in accomplishing their agenda. Many …show more content…
The schools were erected, and the assimilation began. The government and those for these schools could only see the destruction of the Natives and the rearing of a new and better generation of Indians, who would now be called Americans. The process began quickly to the approval of Americans, but to the Natives is yet another war and attack on their way of life. One school in particular was the Charleston Boarding School in Pennsylvania. The children would arrive at this school, and the boys would immediately need to have their hair cut. They were placed in school uniform clothing and stripped of their people, parents and their way of life. These children were forbidden to speak their native language, and their cultural clothing were tossed in the garbage. They were forced to cut their hair and dress as American citizens would dress. Many children were eventually unable to communicate with their parents because they no longer understood their original language. This school and others like it was intended to help these children become Americans. On the contrary, it proved to be a disaster. It was a failure. The children became victims of, not fitting into American life or Native American life. They were left with confusion about who they were and where they belonged. These schools failed these children miserably. The children who did survive this cultural shock went through life struggling to fit in somewhere. Many ended up on the streets, abusing alcohol and depressed. For some of the children, the stress of this cultural shock was too much to handle. Many of the children