After the civil war, the federal government became more involved in establishing off reservation Indian boarding schools. It was believed that by taking the children from their families and putting them in boarding schools off the reservation will assimilate the Indian children more quickly into white culture. Although the conditions were harsh for the Indian children attending these schools, one could argue that the resiliency of the American Indian was reinforced because of these conditions, from the actions of the Native American warriors during World War II to the continued presence of the Native America culture and leaders of today.
The Carlisle Indian School was created in 1879 by Captain Richard Henry Platt in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. …show more content…
During World War II, it helped many Native Americans thrive in the military, for example the Code Talkers. For example, Merrill Sandoval, a Navajo Code Talker, who was interviewed in 2004 states, “We even had to march to school, march to chow, march everywhere, to church. It was still kind of military basis. So when we were in the service everything just came naturally, physically and morally and everything. These institutions were not successful in destroying the Native American Culture which lives and thrives today. Native American tribes continue to celebrate their heritage, practice their traditional ways; language revitalization programs are being introduced to bring language as well. There are many well-known Native Americans, post-boarding school era, that were and are successful. Jim Thorpe, famous native athlete and Olympian; Maria TallChief, first native prima ballerina; Wilma Man-Killer, first native woman elected chief of the Cherokee nation; Sherman Alexie, famous native author; Larry Echohawk, first native Attorney General of Idaho; Kevin Gover, first native Assistant Secretary to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and current Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. These are just a few successful examples of the role that boarding schools played in American Indian
The Carlisle Indian School was created in 1879 by Captain Richard Henry Platt in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. …show more content…
During World War II, it helped many Native Americans thrive in the military, for example the Code Talkers. For example, Merrill Sandoval, a Navajo Code Talker, who was interviewed in 2004 states, “We even had to march to school, march to chow, march everywhere, to church. It was still kind of military basis. So when we were in the service everything just came naturally, physically and morally and everything. These institutions were not successful in destroying the Native American Culture which lives and thrives today. Native American tribes continue to celebrate their heritage, practice their traditional ways; language revitalization programs are being introduced to bring language as well. There are many well-known Native Americans, post-boarding school era, that were and are successful. Jim Thorpe, famous native athlete and Olympian; Maria TallChief, first native prima ballerina; Wilma Man-Killer, first native woman elected chief of the Cherokee nation; Sherman Alexie, famous native author; Larry Echohawk, first native Attorney General of Idaho; Kevin Gover, first native Assistant Secretary to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and current Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. These are just a few successful examples of the role that boarding schools played in American Indian