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What was education like for Natives? |
It is widely known that education reform leads back to Horace Mann and all of his contributions to the education system as we know it today. However, although there were Asian immigrants and Natives in the country, this education reform was directed towards white people. The education reform that happened to Natives, was not quite as pleasant. The entire idea behind education for Natives was to assimilate them to the Western European culture and strip them of their Native heritage. There was the saying at the time of "Kill the Indian, Save the Man", as if Natives were not humans that contributed heavily to the success and history of the people in the United States.
When the Civilization Act of 1819 passed, it basically made it legal to implement any assimilation techniques towards the Natives to "civilize" them. Children were taken from their families and sent off to boarding schools, a famous one is the Carlisle school. |