November is National Native American Heritage Month in the US. This should be an opportunity for schools to discuss their country’s colonial history. But the picture that students receive is often sadly lacking.
A study conducted by Pennsylvania State University between 2016 and 2018 found that 27 states did not name a single individual Native American in their history curriculum standards for schools. The study also found that 87% of curriculum standards do not mention Native American history after 1900 – a very partial picture.
The marginalisation of Native American people and culture in the US education system has a long history. My PhD research explores the exploitation and assimilation Native American children were subjected to in the 19th century.
In 1879, in Pennsylvania, the first government boarding school for Native American children, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, opened its doors. It was founded by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, a soldier who had fought for the US army against various tribes including the Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Kiowa.
Pratt developed his early ideas for educating Native Americans when imprisoning roughly 70 people in Florida during his time in the military. He invited local white Floridians to teach his prisoners English, and began to focus on assimilating Native Americans into white culture.
He became famous for the philosophy “kill the Indian to save the man”. At Carlisle, Pratt implemented a model that removed children from their homes and culture. He said:
Transfer the savage-born infant to the surroundings of civilization, and he will grow to possess a civilized language and habit.
He argued that by educating children, they would grow to enter the workforce. Native American children at Carlisle were intentionally educated and prepared to serve the interests of white Americans. This is evident in Pratt’s “outing system”, which placed Native American children in the homes of local white families to provide manual labour. This often involved female students providing domestic servitude as homemakers, and male students working as farmhands.
The act of subjecting Native American children to assimilation began well before the 19th century. But Carlisle’s layered model of isolation and subjugation systemised the process and led to the founding of further boarding schools.
A study by the US interior department has found that more than 400 of these schools were operated by the United States federal government. Such schools were in existence until 1969.
The research also identified more than 50 burial sites of children who died at the schools. The interior department has so far recorded 500 deaths and acknowledges that the number of unmarked burial sites is likely to increase as the investigation continues.
The whitewashing of education and exploitation of Native American children through boarding schools such as Carlisle has left lasting effects on Native American communities.
Today, Native American children do far worse at school than their white peers. In 2021-2022, white students had a high school graduation percentage of 90%. For Native American students, it was 74%. Meanwhile, 20.3% of Native American families live below the poverty line, compared to 5.9% of white families.
Ongoing exclusion
What’s more, the education system continues to marginalise Native American communities.
In December of 2021, Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis introduced the Stop Woke Act, which bans teaching critical race theory – a field of academic study focused on racism in society – in schools.
This act exemplifies a broader national trend that aims to minimise the teachings of uncomfortable truths about American history, specifically when it pertains to the histories of marginalised groups such as Native Americans. Banning critical race theory in schools limits the capacity of teachers to discuss topics such as systemic racism, which include the weaponisation of education against Native American children.
Ultimately, DeSantis’s approach deprives Native American students of an adequate education about their ancestral history, and robs all students of a more honest understanding of American history.
However, states such as Illinois have made great strides towards a more equal education through recent legislation. On August 4 2023, Illinois governor, JB Pritkzer – alongside the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation – signed a law which mandates instruction on Native American history in Illinois public schools. This exemplifies how inclusive methods of curricula can not only acknowledge past injustices, but also pave ways towards reconciliation and healing from colonial trauma.
The law specifies) this includes teaching about the genocide and forced resettlement of Native Americans by settlers alongside the history of tribes.
When effort is made to shed light on overlooked moments, such as that of the mistreatment of marginalised groups such as Native American communities, the disadvantages they face can be recognised and addressed.
