Assimilation Through Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest

Carolyn J. Marr

This essay's topics:
• Introduction
• Part 1: Indian Boarding School Movement
• Part 2: Mission Schools
• Part 3: Boarding Schools
• Part 4: A Typical Daily Schedule
• Part 5: Negatives and Positives
• Part 6: Sample Daily Routine
  
  
• Footnotes
• Bibliography
• Study Questions
• About the Author

Introduction

The goal of Indian education from the 1880s through the 1920s was to assimilate Indian people into the melting pot of America by placing them in institutions where traditional ways could be replaced by those sanctioned by the government. Federal Indian policy called for the removal of children from their families and in many cases enrollment in a government run boarding school. In this way, the policy makers believed, young people would be immersed in the values and practical knowledge of the dominant American society while also being kept away from any influences imparted by their traditionally-minded relatives.

Chemawa Indian School small boys dorm, Salem, Oregon

Cheyenne woman named Woxie Haury in ceremonial dress, and, in wedding portrait with husband