Boarding School Experience

Summary

In the American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, by David Wallace Adams, he argues that the boarding schools were designed to civilize Indian children. The boarding school main goals were to adapt Indian children into the lifestyles of the white man. The boarding schools cut all the boys hair and left them bald changed their native names and the children had to adjust to the whites food. Whites believed Indians were uncivilized and savage individuals. The boarding schools were built to teach children to be well-mannered humans as whites, forget about their old customs and beliefs, learn Christianity and follow the whites lifestyles. The whites taught Indian children the bible and have them forget about their religious beliefs

Americans wanted to save the man from other different cultures and races. For example, Americans wanted Indian children to adapt to the American cultures and practice their religions. As Indian children began to change into speaking English and practicing Christianity, Americans did not treat them like other American children. Indian children were forced to forget their cultures and were obligated to use different clothing similar to American children, but the clothing was uniform that all the children used alike. The boarding schools were designed to save the man from the Indian culture, but there was no equality and the schools were very similar to military training camps. Indian children would have to eat at a certain time, dress a specific ways and would have a schedule for every activity performed inside the boarding school. The boarding schools goals were to make Indian children into civilized people, but many of the children had terrible experiences inside the schools. For example, in the film we saw in class of Our Spirits don’t speak English, many Indian adults who were inside the boarding schools when they were children said they experienced sexual and mental abuse and were taught industrial training where children would not have professional jobs in their futures, but domestic jobs. Also, Americans did not permit blacks to marry white women because they wanted America to be a better society and not have races mix. For example, there were many Mulatto children who had very light skin, but did not receive whites privileges. Mulatto and Indians were very similar where they adapted to the American culture and dressed as Americans, but were still treated differently by Americans because of the Racism that existed in society. Americans forced Indian children to join boarding schools to make them civilized