The Native American boarding school system was officially started by Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt, an Army officer. In 1879, Pratt opened Carlisle Indian School, an institution founded to assimilate Native Americans into white society. Pratt's motto was, "Kill the Indian, save the man." Assimilation was not so much the Americans' goal as annihilation.
1. Many boarding schools were established far away from reservations so that students would have no contact with their families and friends. Parents were discouraged from visiting and the children rarely got to go home for the summer.
2. Indian boarding school students wore military uniforms and were forced to march.
3. Students were forbidden to speak their native language or practice their religion and were forced to memorize Bible verses and the Lord's prayer.
4. Students were expected to spy on one another and were pitted against each other by administrators and teachers.
5. Students were taught that the Indian way of life was savage and inferior to the white way, and were taught that Indian people who retained their culture were stupid, dirty, and backward.
6. Many students started school as early as 5 years old, and endured horrific mental, physical, and sexual abuse until well into their teens. A letter from Pope Benedict condoned the abuse by comparing sexual abuse injuries to 'Christ's wounds'.
7. Students were forbidden to speak about the abuse they suffered, threatened by their teachers that they would go to Hell if they did so.
8. Many students killed themselves or died of neglect and sickness without ever seeing their families again. Those who have survived have passed on their painful legacy through alcoholism and abuse or neglect of their own families. It is not an understatement to state that the whole of America, not just the Catholic church, has a lot to answer for.
Abigail J. Shanks
