INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS

At the Heard Museum, a powerful exhibit details the infamous Indian Boarding School movement that began in the 1870’s. Young Indian children were wrested from their families and sent to far away boarding schools in order to bring them into the dominant, American culture . No longer able to live a traditional life based on migration across broad expanses of land, how were the youth to adapt to their new circumstances? At the boarding schools, old patterns were broken – hair was cut short, school uniforms replaced colorful Indian garb – English literacy and vocational training were designed to prepare youth for a new life  -- all “to solve” the Indian problem. To leaders of the late 19^th century, this seemed reasonable. Now this underlying philosophy is rejected and boarding schools are things of the past except for a few elite facilities where Indian students choose to go. 

(See link above for photos and more detail.)