Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the late 1800s, the United States federal government established off-reservation boarding schools specifically for American Indians (hereinafter referred to as Indians). The purpose of these boarding schools was to assimilate Indians into the White dominant culture. By forcibly removing children from their families and communities, Indian children were also being removed from their cultural influences and environment. Through education and assimilation policies, government officials set out to accomplish the task of "civilizing" the Indians.
In this paper, I will review some of the literature on the boarding school experiences during the late 1800s and early 1900s and conduct an empirical test to examine the effect of attending boarding schools on assimilation and biculturalism. Some of the questions that will be addressed include: How and why did this assimilation process take place? What were the effects of the boarding school experience on Indians? Were the government’s attempts of forced assimilation successful?