AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: American Indian Boarding Schools (Day 172/309)

Hey APUSHers, let’s chat about American Indian Boarding Schools as part of my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

John Eliot Preaching to the Indians, Wikimedia Commons

Forced assimilation of Native Americans through education had long been part of America’s history as seen through Christian mission schools and legislation permitting money to be spent on the civilization of American Indians.

Boarding School Children working in School Garden, Wikimedia Commons

Through American Indian boarding schools, native children were segregated from their families and tribes in order to more quickly assimilate to white culture and learn farming and industrial skills.

Carlisle Pupils, Wikimedia Commons

Considered the model of Indian boarding schools, Carlisle School in Pennsylvania utilized a military regimen to maintain a strict structure. Children were also sent to nearby families to work and learn the values of a white, American family.

Tom Torlino, Navajo, Wikimedia Commons

The conditions at these schools were often horrible with frequent beatings, malnutrition, abuse, and even death. Not to mention the loss of tribal culture and Indian way of thought.

Hundreds of government funded American Indian boarding schools were established in the 18th and 19th centuries to facilitate assimilation but often resulted in intergenerational trauma for indigenous peoples.

Join me tomorrow as I explain Turner’s Frontier Thesis in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!