| This dissertation is an investigation into the federal off-reservation Indian Boarding Schools in the United States and how their operation aided in the forced assimilation and cultural genocide of Native Americans. The goal of the off-reservation boarding schools was one of assimilation through civilization and education. I provide a glimpse at the operations of these early schools from their inception in 1879 to 1934. During these 55 years, the federal Office of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education learned much from trial and error in a constant attempt to make the school system the successful assimilation machine that it was intended to be. I provide a three-tiered analysis of the boarding schools based on three analytical levels: the system, the institutions, and the individuals.;At the system level are the education circulars from the Washington office, which provided instructions and policy changes to the schools. The circulars often were reflections of concurrent events, problems at the schools, as well as shifts in the roles and methods of the assimilation effort. At the institutional level, the schools are the center of discussion. Furthermore, a picture emerges from written communications from the schools: they were staffed with these individuals who believed in the importance of education, the assimilation of Native Americans, and the peaceful resolution of Euro-American settlement, which is at odds with many survivor accounts. These educators seemingly believed in the mission of schools in general and that education is a necessary step for civilization. The discussion of these motivations leads to a new perpetrator type of ethnocide: the benevolent perpetrator. The discussion of such individuals is the focus at the individual level. |
