Module 3 Academic Journal Blog
By: James Berrigan
For this Academic Blog I read about and chose to Blog about the
Carlisle Indian Industrial Schools that were operating in the United States
from 1879 – 1918. For those that do not
know, “Carlisle was the first
federally funded off-reservation Indian boarding school” (1). While that fact may not be up for debate,
depending on who you ask, the intention or purpose of the school could be. However, the intention of
this post is not to spark another discussion as to the effects of the school or
the cultural ramifications of Carlisle.
The intention of this Blog is to simply explain my opinion of Carlisle
Indian Industrial School.
When reading the article in Wikipedia about Carlisle Indian
School there was one point I wanted to discuss.
As mentioned above, depending on who you ask, the opinions of Carlisle
Indian Industrial School vary. The Web Resource
for Module 3 that I have cited, states that Carlisle “was founded on the principle that Native Americans were the
equals of European-Americans, and that Native American children immersed in
mainstream Euro-American culture would learn skills to advance in society”
(1).
It is my opinion,
based on the cited quote and the timeframe that Carlisle was operating, Carlisle
was founded to and should have been much more beneficial to the Native
Americans involved. Carlisle was
operating at the same time that the United States was going through their
historic Industrial Revolution and people with Vocational skills were in great
need and valued in the work place. However,
I feel that the way in which Carlisle placed process over education and the way
they attempted to assimilate Native Americans into the modern world was
obviously flawed. Should the school have
focused on providing the involved parties with the skills needed to succeed in
a rapidly changing world in lieu of “killing the Indian to save the man” (1),
Carlisle could have been an essential tool or aid for Native Americans.
It was said that
while some 10,000 Native Americans from 140 tribes attended Carlisle, only 158
graduated (1). To put that into modern
day numbers, in New York State, roughly 75% of eligible students graduated High
School in 2013 (2). Carlisle had a
graduation rate of approximately 1.6% which would be beyond unacceptable at any
school level in modern times in the United States.
As you know, the
intention of this Blog was not to argue the cultural ramifications of Carlisle
but was to just explain my opinion. It
is my opinion that Carlisle was founded with good intentions. However, somewhere along it transformed. Unfortunately, Carlisle missed an amazing
opportunity that could have positively influenced the Native American culture
in a way that, if done correctly, this course we are taking would be
drastically different. If done
correctly, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, could been known for providing an
environment of growth and opportunity for the Native American culture which
aided in continuing Native American traditions while assimilating Native
Americans to the modern world instead of further crippling Native Americans and
being yet another blunder made by the US Government in regards to Native
American relations.
Works Cited
- The Wall Street Journal: By Leslie Brody. June 23, 2014http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-high-school-graduation-rates-inch-up-1403572053
I agree that Carlisle, if handles properly, could have been a very beneficial school but like many other endeavors intended to benefit the Native Americans,it turned into just another problem for them
ReplyDeleteGreat post James, I agree with it's unacceptable 1.6% graduation rate. Imagine in NY state schools have that rate. The governor would shut them down, I feel with the NCLB, it gives the right of any child no matter what their situation is, a right for a good education, I guess not.
ReplyDeleteI also decided to review this source since my project is about one of the students who attended the Carlisle School. I think it is awful that students were forced to assimilate. They could have learned skills without losing their culture and way of life. There is absolutely no reason that their names should have been changed to conform. It must have been a very scary and confusing situation. My heart goes out to the students who attended the school.
ReplyDelete