It is mostly common knowledge that reservations forced Natives Americans from their land, which led to the abandonment of their cultures and lifestyles. After many of these people gave up their languages and religion, they then lost their children to boarding schools funded by the federal government. In these schools, children were stripped of their native identities, from their traditional clothing, their braids, and even their language. The Carlisle School, founded by Richard Henry Pratt, was the first federally funded of these schools. The Carlisle School has created a huge amount of controversy and pain, and it is very important to remember what the purpose of this school was, what its policies were, and how much it actually effected the
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The purpose of these boarding schools was to ultimately turn the Native children into “American” children. Their tribal values, beliefs, and clothes were ripped away from them and in return, they were given a more European education, popular clothes, and an entirely new religion to believe in. These children were forced to speak a new language and were scolded harshly when they used their native tongues. Pratt believed that this was essential to the development of America because he believed that Native Americans were a “dying race” and that “they wouldn’t be bilked by whites and would be able to succeed in white society.” (Thomas, 2016) Pratt’s position on the issue was actually considered to be advanced and reasonable. Perhaps his most famous quote is “Kill the Indian, save the man.” (Pratt, 1900) Pratt did not believe in the complete genocide of Native Americans. Instead, he believed that it was in everyone’s best interest to conform them to whiter values and …show more content…
While some students returned home to welcoming arms, many returned to reservations where they were outcast for taking on white man's culture. Most students adjusted to both cultures, but some chose to abandon their tribal ways entirely. Students from Carlisle also brought back “white men’s diseases,” specifically tuberculosis. Hundreds of children died at Carlisle due to infectious diseases, nearly all of them were returned home to die except for the tuberculosis patients. The Carlisle School has an on-campus graveyard that it still there to this day consisting of 186 gravestones. (Thomas, 2016) Feasibly the most heartbreaking aspect of this situation would be the before and after pictures Pratt insisted on taking. Such pictures perfectly exemplify the pain caused by the Carlisle School and Pratt himself. These pictures show the Native American children as they were originally: beautiful long hair and braids, headdresses and robes. You can see the sadness in their eyes. The after pictures consist of boys and girls with their hair chopped off and dressed in uniforms. The children are sitting on the floor in the before pictures, and in the after pictures they are sitting on parlor furniture. Pratt even went as far as manipulating the lighting to make their skin appear lighter, proving that “with the proper education,
The purpose of these boarding schools was to ultimately turn the Native children into “American” children. Their tribal values, beliefs, and clothes were ripped away from them and in return, they were given a more European education, popular clothes, and an entirely new religion to believe in. These children were forced to speak a new language and were scolded harshly when they used their native tongues. Pratt believed that this was essential to the development of America because he believed that Native Americans were a “dying race” and that “they wouldn’t be bilked by whites and would be able to succeed in white society.” (Thomas, 2016) Pratt’s position on the issue was actually considered to be advanced and reasonable. Perhaps his most famous quote is “Kill the Indian, save the man.” (Pratt, 1900) Pratt did not believe in the complete genocide of Native Americans. Instead, he believed that it was in everyone’s best interest to conform them to whiter values and …show more content…
While some students returned home to welcoming arms, many returned to reservations where they were outcast for taking on white man's culture. Most students adjusted to both cultures, but some chose to abandon their tribal ways entirely. Students from Carlisle also brought back “white men’s diseases,” specifically tuberculosis. Hundreds of children died at Carlisle due to infectious diseases, nearly all of them were returned home to die except for the tuberculosis patients. The Carlisle School has an on-campus graveyard that it still there to this day consisting of 186 gravestones. (Thomas, 2016) Feasibly the most heartbreaking aspect of this situation would be the before and after pictures Pratt insisted on taking. Such pictures perfectly exemplify the pain caused by the Carlisle School and Pratt himself. These pictures show the Native American children as they were originally: beautiful long hair and braids, headdresses and robes. You can see the sadness in their eyes. The after pictures consist of boys and girls with their hair chopped off and dressed in uniforms. The children are sitting on the floor in the before pictures, and in the after pictures they are sitting on parlor furniture. Pratt even went as far as manipulating the lighting to make their skin appear lighter, proving that “with the proper education,