Difference between revisions of "426--Week 12 Questions/Comments--Tuesday"
From McClurken Wiki
(→Background (Please post!)) |
(→Adams Article) |
||
| Line 50: | Line 50: | ||
The missionaries, teachers, and policy makers appear to have had mixed motives for their actions towards Native American children in the boarding schools. I believe that many of them genuinely thought their actions were for the benefit of the children. For instance, one official is quoted as saying, in reference to the naming process, that there was "no reason why we should ruthlessly thrust upon him our English names...We want to educate the Indian--lead him on, not stamp him out." (30) That said, a number of them were undoubtedly motivated by racism or an attitude of cultural superiority. Religion also played a large role in boarding school life and clearly motivated at least some of the policies. It seems clear based on the amount of time spent on religion and morality that one of the primary goals of the teachers and missionaries was to promote conversions to Christianity. --Sarah Gardner | The missionaries, teachers, and policy makers appear to have had mixed motives for their actions towards Native American children in the boarding schools. I believe that many of them genuinely thought their actions were for the benefit of the children. For instance, one official is quoted as saying, in reference to the naming process, that there was "no reason why we should ruthlessly thrust upon him our English names...We want to educate the Indian--lead him on, not stamp him out." (30) That said, a number of them were undoubtedly motivated by racism or an attitude of cultural superiority. Religion also played a large role in boarding school life and clearly motivated at least some of the policies. It seems clear based on the amount of time spent on religion and morality that one of the primary goals of the teachers and missionaries was to promote conversions to Christianity. --Sarah Gardner | ||
| + | |||
| + | To be completely honest, I knew that Native Americans were forced to assimilate and "become white" but I had NO idea that they were sent to boarding schools to accomplish this task. This may have seemed like a good idea at the time but I think this is completely absurd. It makes me really think about Rebecca's questions in the sense that, I really do wonder whether or not the missionaries and teachers really wanted to help the Native Americans and were doing the right thing or if they were merely trying to get rid of them and their culture entirely because they were "wrong." It also makes me wonder if, to the missionaries and teachers and other whites, these two possibilities were really the same thing; that the only way to help the Native Americans was to remove their culture. -Kelly W. | ||
