“Kill the Indian, Save the man.”
- Richard Henry Pratt (Native American)
"Richard Henry Pratt" (Kill the Indian)
The Navajo language, which created an unbreakable military code, was nearly lost to humanity due to prejudice and a desire to assimilate Native Americans in the 19th century. During the 1800s, U.S. government policy was to convert the Natives to the “American way of life” and civilize them (Native American).
In order to Americanize the children, the boarding schools forbade the use of native languages. Some schools rewarded those who refrained from speaking their native tongue while other schools punished infractions with whipping and washing mouths with soap (Native American).
"We were yelled at and slapped. In the 3rd grade, I asked the teacher why she was teaching that Columbus discovered America when Indians were here first. She came over and slapped me across my face. To be humiliated in front of the class, I'll never forget that."
- Edith Young (Milich)
"The whole move was to make Indian children white. Of course, at the end of the school experience, the children still weren't white. They were not accepted by white mainstream America. When they went back to their tribal homelands, they didn't fit in at home any more either."
~ Kay McGowan, Boarding School Student (Milich).
“All those years, telling you not to speak Navajo, and then to turn around and ask for us to help with that same language…. It still kind of bothers me.”
- Chester Nez (Arbuckle).
The boarding schools removed understanding of the language and background from the younger speakers (Tapahonso, Zalcman). It is a miracle that native languages still survive today (Tapahonso, Zalcman). Despite years of oppression, when the U.S. went to war, the Native Americans immediately volunteered to defend their homeland (Ponder).
The Navajo language, which created this unbreakable code, was nearly lost to American culture due to prejudice and a desire to assimilate Native Americans in the 19th century. The whole idea was to convert the Natives to the “American way of life” and civilize them (Native American)
"Before the Schools" (Stephanie).
"After the schools" (Stephanie).
One of the major things they did to remove the languages was restricting the use of their native tongue while some schools rewarded those who refrained from this, other schools used punishment such as whipping and washing out their mouths (Native American).
"The whole move was to make Indian children white. Of course, at the end of the school experience, the children still weren't white. They were not accepted by white mainstream America. When they went back to their tribal homelands, they didn't fit in at home any more either"
~ Kay McGowan, Boarding School Student (Milich).
"Poem about being forced to become American" (The Native American)