Aug 10, · Assimilation and accommodation help explain how objects, animals or people are categorized based on key characteristics and observations. Explore the concepts of assimilation and accommodation in As the census makes clear, the United States is a diverse multicultural society. Minority groups make up roughly one-third of the Nation's population, up from one-quarter in Minority groups are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau ). Foreign-born people now constitute more than 11 percent of the population—an alltime high (Schmidley ) Aug 01, · But for those who believe that assimilation is a matter of identity — as many on the far right do — nothing short of the abandonment of all traces of your heritage will do
The Difference Between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation - Everyday Feminism
Browse Images. Browse Documents. The goal of Indian education from the s through the s was to assimilate Indian people cultural assimilation essay the melting pot of America by placing them in institutions where traditional ways could be replaced by those sanctioned by the government.
Federal Indian policy called for the removal of children from their families and in many cases enrollment in a government run boarding school. In this way, the policy makers believed, young people would be immersed in the values and practical knowledge of the dominant American society while also being kept away from any influences imparted by their traditionally-minded relatives.
The Indian boarding school movement began in the post Civil War era when idealistic reformers turned their attention to the plight of Indian people.
Whereas before many Americans regarded the native people with either fear or loathing, the reformers believed that with the proper education and treatment Indians could become just like other citizens.
They convinced the leaders of Congress that education could change at least some of the Indian population into patriotic and productive members of society. One of the first efforts to accomplish this goal was the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, founded by Captain Richard Henry Pratt in Pratt was a leading proponent of the assimilation through education policy.
Believing that Indian ways were inferior to those of whites, he subscribed to the principle, "kill the Indian and save the man. Photographs taken at the school illustrate how they looked "before" and "after". The dramatic contrast between traditional clothing and hairstyles and Victorian styles of dress helped convince the public that through boarding school education Indians could become completely "civilized".
Following the model of Carlisle, additional off reservation boarding schools were established in other parts of the country, cultural assimilation essay, including Forest Grove, Oregon later known as Chemawa. Seeking to educate increasing numbers of Indian children at lower cost, the federal government established two other types of schools: the reservation boarding school and day schools.
Reservation boarding schools had the advantage of being closer to Indian communities and as a result had lower transportation costs. Contact between students and their families was somewhat restricted as students remained at the school for eight to nine months of the year.
Relatives could visit briefly at prescribed times. School administrators worked constantly to keep the students at school and eradicate all vestiges of their tribal cultures. Day schools, which were the most economical, usually provided only a minimal education. They worked with the boarding schools by transferring students for more advanced studies. In the Pacific Northwest, treaties negotiated with the Indians during the s included promises of educational support for the tribes.
For example, Article 10 of the Medicine Creek Treaty signed by members of the Nisqually, Squaxin, Puyallup and Steilacoom Tribes on December 26, called for the establishment of an agricultural and industrial school "to be free to the children of said tribes for a period of 20 years. A similar clause appears in the Treaty of Point Elliott, signed by representatives of tribes living in the central and northern Puget Sound region, cultural assimilation essay.
The promised schools did not come into existence for several years. In the s and s a few small reservation boarding schools were established on the Chehalis, Skokomish and Makah Reservations. These institutions, which had cultural assimilation essay than 50 students, were all closed by and replaced by day schools.
In Tacoma, cultural assimilation essay, a one-room shack served as a day school for young Puyallup Indians beginning in By students had begun boarding at the school and during the s enrollment increased to pupils. At the turn of the century, Cushman Indian School had become a large industrial boarding school, drawing over students from around the Northwest and Alaska.
The Report of Superintendent of Indian Schools praised Cushman for being well equipped for industrial training and photographs show a modern machine shop. Cushman remained one of the largest on reservation boarding schools in the region until it closed in Meanwhile, on many reservations missionaries operated schools that combined religious with academic training, cultural assimilation essay.
At Priest's Point near the Tulalip Reservation, Reverend E. Chirouse opened a school in for six boys and five girls. By he had 15 pupils and the school continued to grow under the auspices of the Sisters of Providence. At these missionary run schools, traditional religious and cultural practices were strongly discouraged while instruction in the Christian doctrines took place utilizing pictures, statues, hymns, prayers and storytelling.
Some missionary schools received federal support, particularly at times when Congress felt less inclined to provide the large sums of money needed to establish government schools. The Tulalip Mission School became the first contract Indian school, an arrangement whereby the government provided annual funds to maintain the buildings while the Church furnished books, clothing, housing and medical care.
In Congress drastically reduced the funding for mission schools and eventually, in the winter ofcultural assimilation essay, the Tulalip school became a federal facility.
The old school buildings were destroyed by fire in On January 23,exactly fifty years after the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty, a new and larger school opened along the shores of Tulalip Bay. The Tulalip Indian School began under the supervision of Charles Milton Buchanan, a physician who also served as Indian Agent for the reservation. The first year it had cultural assimilation essay one dormitory, but by both girls' and boys' buildings were completed and the school had a capacity enrollment of students.
The children ranged in age from 6 to 18 years and came from many different reservations as well as some off reservation communities. It was not uncommon for teachers at day schools to recommend certain students for the boarding school.
Because Tulalip offered cultural assimilation essay maximum of eighth grade education, some students transferred to Chemawa for more advanced training. In eastern Washington, cultural assimilation essay, a U. military fort near Spokane was transformed into a boarding school for Indians of the Spokane and Colville reservations.
Fort Spokane Boarding School opened in with an enrollment of 83 pupils and grew to by It operated only until after which time the children attended day schools cultural assimilation essay to their homes.
Similarly, the military facility at Fort Simcoe became a school for the Yakama and their neighbors. The national system cultural assimilation essay Indian education, including both off reservation boarding schools, reservation cultural assimilation essay schools and day schools, continued to expand at the turn of the century.
In the Pacific Northwest, Chemawa Indian School became the largest off reservation boarding school and drew pupils from throughout the region and Alaska.
Chemawa had originally been located at Forest Grove, Oregon, cultural assimilation essay, but was moved to Salem in after officials determined that the original site lacked adequate agricultural land. By Chemawa enrolled students from 90 different tribes, nearly cultural assimilation essay third coming from Alaska. All federal boarding cultural assimilation essay, whether on or off reservation, shared certain characteristics.
The Cultural assimilation essay of Indian Affairs issued directives that were followed by superintendents throughout the nation. Even the architecture and landscaping appeared similar from one institution to the next. Common features included a military style regimen, a strict adherence to English language only, an emphasis on farming, and a schedule that equally split academic and vocational training.
By reading the Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and other documents you can compare the official reports submitted by various schools. A typical daily schedule at a boarding school began with an early wake-up cultural assimilation essay followed by a series of tasks punctuated by the ringing of bells, cultural assimilation essay.
Students were required to march from one activity to the next. Regular inspections and drills took place outdoors with platoons organized according to age and rank. Competitions were held to see which group could achieve the finest marching formation. The foremost requirement for assimilation into American society, authorities felt, was mastery of the English language.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs T. Morgan described English as "the language of the greatest, most powerful and enterprising nationalities beneath the sun.
Students were prohibited from speaking their native languages and those caught "speaking Indian" were severely punished. Later, cultural assimilation essay, many former students regretted that they lost the ability to speak their native language fluently because of the years they spent in boarding school.
Another important component of the government policy for "civilizing" the Indians was to teach farming techniques. Although few reservations in the Pacific Northwest had either fertile land or a climate conducive to agriculture, nonetheless it was felt that farming was the proper occupation for American citizens.
So boys learned how to milk cows, grow vegetables, repair tools, etc. and even had lessons on the various types of plows, cultural assimilation essay. The boarding schools had what came to cultural assimilation essay called the "half and cultural assimilation essay system where students spent cultural assimilation essay of the day in the classroom and half at a work assignment or "detail" on the school grounds.
The academic curriculum included courses in U. history, geography, language, cultural assimilation essay, arithmetic, reading, writing and spelling. Music and drama were offered at most schools. Young women spent either the morning or the afternoon doing laundry, sewing, cooking, cleaning and other household tasks.
Older girls might study nursing or office work. The young men acquired skills in carpentry, blacksmithing, animal husbandry, cultural assimilation essay, baking and shop. They chopped firewood to keep the steam boilers operating. The work performed by students was essential to the cultural assimilation essay of the institution.
The meat, vegetables and milk served in the dining room came from livestock and gardens kept by the students. The girls made and repaired uniforms, sheets, cultural assimilation essay, and curtains and helped to prepare the meals.
A standardized curriculum for Indian schools emphasized vocational training. Estelle Reel, who served as Superintendent of Indian Education from tocultural assimilation essay, was a strong advocate of this curriculum which gave primary importance to learning manual skills.
No amount of book learning, cultural assimilation essay, she felt, could result in economic independence for Indian people. Others would claim that by limiting education to manual training the educators were condemning Indian people to permanent inequality.
A former student at the Fort Spokane boarding school described typical work done by the boys:. Mandatory education for Indian children became law in and thereafter agents on the reservations received instructions on how to enforce the federal regulation. If parents refused to send their children to school the authorities could withhold annuities cultural assimilation essay rations or send them to jail.
Some parents were uncomfortable having their children sent far away from home. The educators had quotas to fill, however, and considerable pressure was exerted on Indian families to send their youngsters to boarding schools beginning when the child was six years old. Fear and loneliness caused by this early separation from family is a common experience shared by all former students.
Once their children were enrolled in a distant school, cultural assimilation essay lost control over decisions that affected them. For example, requests for holiday leave could be denied by the superintendent for almost any reason. For some students, the desire for freedom and the pull of their family combined with strong discontent caused them to run away. At Chemawa, for example, there were 46 "desertions" cultural assimilation essay infollowed by 70 in
What is Cultural Assimilation?
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As the census makes clear, the United States is a diverse multicultural society. Minority groups make up roughly one-third of the Nation's population, up from one-quarter in Minority groups are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau ). Foreign-born people now constitute more than 11 percent of the population—an alltime high (Schmidley ) Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting the culture or language of one nation in another, usually occurring in situations in which assimilation is the dominant strategy of acculturation. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude regarding cultural Aug 01, · But for those who believe that assimilation is a matter of identity — as many on the far right do — nothing short of the abandonment of all traces of your heritage will do
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