Perhaps you will remember that in the prelude, I mentioned my introduction to the Native American experience through various forums. One contact was One Thousand Tepees, and the second, Round Dance. Through these forums, I began to learn of the similarities between my life and the Native American boarding school experience.
There are differences. Native American children were forced to attend by kidnapping, though Native American families fought and resisted. At their own peril, parents often tried to hide their children, but to no avail. Tragically, our own Christian churches were in cahoots with the government to “kill the Indian and save the soul.” It is appalling to learn that untold numbers of children have been killed in these religious boarding schools.
My parents sent me willingly. In my experience, mandatory boarding school was mission board policy. They insisted that our parents could not fulfill the many responsibilities of their missionary call with children at home. So it was in the name of God and service to him that we small ones were sent away. Unlike the Native Americans, our parents agreed with the dictates of the governing mission board.
Still, as I learned about the Native American experience, it became clear that the abuse I suffered does not only apply to missionary kids. The boarding school experience is not a collection of anecdotal stories; it is a model that represents a pattern which continued on three continents late into the twentieth century.
The following paragraphs summarize events described in the book, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions by John (Fire) Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes. Lame Deer was forced to a Catholic boarding school when he was a small child. His experience mirrors that of many, and the impact of forced schooling was to cause great harm to Native American children.
Lame Deer records his happy early childhood living with his grandparents. When he misbehaved, his grandparents often said, “Shh, wasicun anigni kte” – be quiet or the white man will take you away. As a boy, he did not know that those words would come true. “One day the monster came,” says Lame Deer. The monster he refers to was a white man from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Lame Deer stood behind his Grandmother, because no one could keep him safe like she could, but she could not. Even his Grandfather, who had fought in the war with Custer, could not save him. The Indian police said they would make it hard on the family if their grandson did not go to boarding school, so off he went, to the place that was run like a jail or a military school. Standing at attention and walking in step was required daily. Roll calls took place several times a day. The BIA did their best to remove the Indian from the children. Severe punishment followed use of the native language. Nevertheless, Lame Deer says that no matter how severe the punishment, they could not change what was inside of him, his Native identity.
Still, the boarding school inflicted terrific amounts of damage. Many children committed suicide, and many ran away only to be caught and subjected to more severe punishment. Some of the punishments included whippings, starvation, isolation, sexual attacks by staff, and rape by their own peers while the staff members watched. Many children were left without any knowledge of who they were, afraid and unable to reclaim their Native heritage.