Did American Indians Survive the Boarding Schools?

“The Journey of Indian Children to boarding school was that first step out of darkness of savagery into the light of civilisation”

Attendance of these government run institutions was heartbreaking and often the children were forcibly separated from their families.  On arrival at the school the process of ‘civilisation’ began, of which the first symbolic step was the cutting of the Indian’s hair, a process that many Indian tribes associated with mourning, and therefore a very traumatic event for many Indian pupils. At Pine Ridge Boarding School, the children were taken into a room separately, with curtains drawn so that children could not see the hair being cut, as it was anticipated that the children would respond badly. Unfortunately the well-orchestrated plan did not go well, as a breeze swept through the room, revealing the act to students who were trying to peer into the room from outside. One child commented, “If I am here to learn the ways of the white people, I can do it just as well with my hair on” . This may have been true, however, authorities believed the long hair of the children to be another symbolic attachment to the savagery of tribal life, therefore it must be removed.

The next step towards civilisation was to dress the children in a school uniform in return for traditional dress. Students were “routinely issued institutional uniforms upon arrival at school”. The standards of dress varied from institution to institution, some schools didn’t have enough clothing, and many children often wrote home requesting money for clothes. Some schools however had tailoring and sewing classes so the students made their own clothes and darned those garments that were broken. In those schools where the students had to make do, it had negative affects on the motivation amongst children, having scruffy clothes lowered the child’s self respect and the child’s estimation of the school, however, with clothes that were neat, and with a plentiful supply of clothes, the students were more willing to take part in school life, and were more cheerful.

The cutting of hair and the distribution of school uniforms highlighted the regimental lifestyle of the Boarding schools. Students were put into Army units and drilled in executing complex marching routines, it was believed that if the students were put into battalions it would “break up persisting tribal associations” This regimental life style must have been quite alien to the students, the constant ringing of bells and marching was totally in opposition to their life of living by nature, with nature. This increasingly disciplined and regimental life style stemmed from a simple misunderstanding that the Indian had an inability to comprehend and respond.

“All government boarding schools followed a strict policy that forbade Indian students from speaking tribal languages,” and also enforced a rule of renaming of these children. Once they had arrived at the school, many teachers found it difficult to pronounce the students names, they had no patience with these tribal names, and students were often ridiculed, especially if the name translated into something perceived to be ludicrous, for example “Marry Swollen Face” The renaming of the students was not just a case of the impatient teachers, but also a “conscious government policy to give Indians surnames” which were perceived as socially acceptable to the white middle classes. For Indians to be completely assimilated into American life, with the ultimate aim being citizenship, it would be necessary for the Indian to have a surname which would show a family link. This would enable almost complete emersion into white culture, as there would be a family tie by way of surname. For example, “Old sitting Bull would be none the less savage were he to take himself the most honourable name we know… George S.Bull Washington” Tribal naming practices were central to the perpetuation of cultural outlook, renaming was a highly significant act of de-tribalisation.

Classes were divided into manual and traditional curricula. The first half of the day would either be spent on English, arithmetic, geography and most importantly religion, or on learning a trade such as carpentry or sewing and the afternoon spent on what hadn’t been done in the morning. All in all, these particular subjects were considered vital to the Indian increasing his chance of civilisation and preparing him for citizenship.

Some opponents believed that the boarding schools prevented children from experiencing civilisation. Indian Boarding schools were just that Indian, children were surrounded by other Indian children for many different tribes throughout the school, it could be seen that by having all these constant reminders of tribal life around them it would prevent the student from realising the true meaning of white life. However, the boarding schools had a weapon to combat this possibility, the “outing” programme, where students went to visit and work for families, and companies in the community around the school. The idea was to experience economic life of America, immersing them in the life of the white family and seeing first hand how living a civilised life would benefit not only you personally, but also your family. The outing system also dealt with other possible problems with the boarding school scheme. Boarding schools only operated for 8 to 9 months of the year, and throughout the rest of the year, it was feared that once the students returned back to their tribal life, “they [would] forget all they had been taught” Due to this, many attempts were made to prevent children from returning home during the school year, visits from parents were restricted, sometimes not allowed at all, and it was more or less impossible for the student to return to the tribe for a visit. However, the Outing system provided a perfect solution. The programme was held over the summer, preventing the student from returning to the tribe and loosing all they had achieved. The outing system was quite often a complete failure, as “outing program girls were very high spirited domestic servants” and students seized upon the relative freedom outside of boarding school, often going out with fellow students late into the night and some brought men home to the houses at which they were staying.

“They put me in the boarding school and they cut off my hair, gave me an education, but the apache’s still in there” 

Resistance at Boarding Schools was a significant issue, and took place in a number of different forms. To start with there was Resistance to the system from the outside. Parents worried about their children, especially as it didn’t take much to realise that the school system was a full on attempt to remove all vestiges of tribal identify from their children, not only this, but they worried for their children’s health. Boarding schools were a hive of activity for bugs, measles and influenza were commonplace, although it was declared that there were “no serious outbreaks” cases of measles, mumps, tuberculosis and deaths from Meningitis were still sited at Haskell Boarding School. On top of this between 1918 and 1919 there were a pandemic of influenza amongst boarding school students, 3,000 students at Haskell alone were taken ill with disease. Schools were overcrowded, poor food with irregular health care, and the sick were not segregated from the ill. Trachoma was a disease that was widespread amongst Indian Boarding Schools; easily spread it was the leading health threat to American Indians after tuberculosis. Treatment was very primitive, it was advised that the sick should be separated from the healthy, but the Indian office did not heed this advice, in fact, in 1897 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs William Jones issued an order to fill government schools to capacity to “further the work of assimilation and help prepare for citizenship” This increase in the budget for Boarding Schools was all very well and good for the process of assimilation, however it was deadly for those students who were enrolled into a sick and unhealthy environment. Parents were in constant anxiety over their children as officials routinely concealed news of illness. Despite the fact that the diseased and healthy intermingled on a daily basis in school life, some government advisors argued that “Indians were predisposed to tuberculosis because of heredity” Many officials also put the large amounts of illness down to the ignorance and superstition of the natives, it was highly documented however that children were catching these diseases once they attended Boarding School. Over the course of history the deaths of children at government boarding schools have generally been forgotten as disease amongst Native Americans at this time were high, however, it is telling that at Lawrence Boarding school children between the ages of 6 and 26 died, and at Haskell 37 tribes are buried in the cemetery.

Clearly with the deaths and illness of many children at the Boarding Schools parents became unwilling to send their children to school. There was a great deal of tribal resistance, many ignored the compulsory attendance laws, landing a whole group of Hopi men in prison at Alcatraz, Mesquakie tribes boycotted schools refusing to send their children. Resistance wasn’t always as severe as the Hopi tribe, however Parents often took to bargaining with the tribal leaders as to which child should be sent away, many just left the camp for a few weeks, others physically withheld their children. If all else failed, once children were at school parents would bombard the school authorities with letters requesting their children to be sent home. It didn’t take much for the oldest and strongest members of the tribes to realise that “white education…was…an invitation to cultural suicide” Thinking that once the child was removed from the family they would be completely isolated from all tribal influences, agents underestimated the family ties that existed amongst tribal communities, parents resented the schools because they severed these parental-child bonds. Yet, despite the schools physically separating the children from their families, parent and child often exchanged letters, expressing homesickness, and an ever-present tie to their cultural traditions.

Although the students lived a very military and disciplined life at school, control over the students was not absolute. On evenings and weekends students were able to relax, occasionally parental visits occurred, and students often gathered to discuss memories of tribal life. Students, like their parents resented being forcibly separated and placed in an alien environment, the constant marching and rigorous military regime would have been something that was extremely hard to get used to. For younger students reason for resistance would have been separation from parents and family, however older students took a more political stance it took “little imagination to discern that the entire school program constituted an uncompromising hegemonic assault on their cultural identity”.

There were many methods of resistance employed by the students, Running away was the most common, triggered by the desire to attend a tribal ceremony, see parents, escape the regimental life style and often just to experience the surrounding city. Two particularly industrious students realised that once, when a school building was set on fire, the students were given the afternoon often, so if another building burnt down, then the whole school would be rewarded with a vacation. Although running away was a popular method of resistance, it very rarely worked as students were quickly returned to boarding school, Passive Resistance on the other hand, was a very strong method of resistance. Students wilfully defied their teachers, took part in disruptive pranks and took up a general posture of non-responsiveness; it became clear that it was often the students not the teachers who were dictating the pace of the class.

“If I do not believe you

The things you say

Maybe I will not tell you

That is my way

Maybe you think I believe you

That thing you say

But always my thoughts stay with me,

My own way”

Students may have been outwardly doing the work, and taking account of what their teachers were telling them, however inside they were constantly rejecting ideas, and as away to enhance this rejection of Christian values and pride of their own culture they took part in traditional tribal activities, braiding hair, holding stomp dances in the woods for boys and peyoke meetings for the girls. Students often renamed their teachers with names such as “The woman who makes you scream” after all, if they could be renamed, why shouldn’t they rename officials? Kindergarten children were seen creating miniature Indian tribal camps. The students didn’t always get the result they wanted, however by their; “clandestine acts of cultural preservation” the students had made their point.

It wasn’t only through resistance that brought the students together culturally, the student body at the boarding schools were connected by sports, it had been seen as contradictory by John Bloom, seeing athletics as an “ally of assimilation” however, it became clear that sports were in fact “a complex cultural practice” sports were a strong way to express resistance and enhance pride at being Indian

It was at graduation day that the authorities would take their last opportunity to enforce white values on the students, as after this day, they would have to use their own will power if they were to fight the savage within. “You cannot become truly American citizens, industrious, intelligent, cultured, civilized until the INDIAN within you is DEAD”  Officials were unable to tell whether their work over the past years had truly affected the students into starting a new life with the values of America, they hoped that they would, and also that they would return to their tribes and serve as a proponent of progress, education and civilised life, converting in turn their tribe. Had they only removed the trappings of the Indian, the clothes, hair, language and name? Was there still a “pagan heart concealed by those clothes” 

Many children returned to the reservations, and to the authorities delight refused to take part in ceremonies, and take up tribal life where they left off, many students were disgusted at having to sleep on the floor “I am used to another way of living now, and I do not intend to do these things”. Many students eventually grew tired of tribal life and left to go and find work in the city, however some stayed and tried to detribalise their own relatives. Success was relatively small, however some children did manage to teach their tribe Christian ways.

Students often were left depressed once returning to the tribe, their community had little need for any industrial skills, many had problems communicating when they met their families, and in some cases, they didn’t even recognise each other. Once the students were back in the tribal environment the battle for the student’s soul swapped from the government to the tribe.

“All you gave me is gone… I am again a Comanche… I have no piece of land for my own and now when I want to work the white mans road… I have nothing to do it with”

The aim of the schools was to use the christianised, individualised students as agents to detribalise the older generations of Indians still engulfed in barbarism. Clearly in this respect the Indians survived the Boarding schools, this was a very ambitious aim, underestimating the strong tribal ties. Students were not passive; if they chose to resist assimilation they took very extreme methods such as running away and arson. Students that seemed to have been transformed to the civilised way, were still an Indian at heart, the process of assimilation was “not just a process of changing one cultural skin for another”.

Many Indians however did not survive the boarding school experience, many Indians died whilst at the schools, and of those recorded there are many more still that aren’t. It has to be remembered, that at this time, it was not only boarding school children that were dying, tuberculosis was a common disease amongst Native American tribes.  

Indians lost control over their lives once they were sent to boarding school; the schools were a systematic assault on their tribal identity they “left behind the familiar world of tribal ways “

The schools may have changed their names, cut their hair, taken away their traditional clothing and prevented them form speaking their tribal languages, however they failed to extinguish the power of family. Students constantly received letters from family members, and students were drawn together with extreme tribal pride, through sports and secret ceremonies. Not only did students find a new respect for their tribe, but as a whole race. Schools were set up to dilute tribal influences; ironically they helped families survive separation, strengthening these deep tribal bonds. Schools enlarged their sense of identity and may have” contributed to it’s persistence in the form of twentieth century pan Indian consciousness”

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