KILL THE INDIAN, SAVE THE CHILD

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KILL THE INDIAN,SAVE THE CHILD
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We were supposed to make you our students give
up being Indian. Your songs and stories and
language and dancing we were trying to kill
Indian culture I hurt a lot of Indian kids I
might have broken a few bones.- The Absolutely
True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (35)
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Education philosophy for Indian children,
beginning in the early 1900s and continuing into
the 1970s- Cultural genocide- Attempt to
forcefully and quickly assimilate (give up ones
heritage)
KILL THE INDIAN,SAVE THE CHILD
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Upon arrival, students were

• Given a haircut
• Given an English name
• Told that they were forbidden to speak their
  native language.
• Given a military uniform
• Taught that the Indian way of life was savage
  and inferior to the white way.
• Told that Indian people who retained their
  culture were stupid, dirty, and backwards.

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The schools also

• Discouraged family members and parents from
  visiting their children
• Did not allow students to go home for the
  summer.
• Shamed and humiliated those who showed any form
  of homesickness for their families
• Taught stereotypical and/or distorted depictions
  of Native American historical figures

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NOBLE SAVAGE
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NOBLE SAVAGE

• Depicted as ignorant, but capable of learning
• Shows Native American as a savage needing to be
  civilized
• A humble, thoughtful student waiting for a
  dominant teacher
• In pictures, often times looking off into the
  distance for help? Knowledge? A teacher?

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from Disneys Spirit
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from Disneys Pocahontas
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DEMONIC WARRIOR
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Depictions of Native Americans as aggressors
- Typically have facial features that are
exaggerated and devilish. - Look unmistakably
violent - meant to be feared - Tomahawk (or
some other weapon) in hand
DEMONIC WARRIOR
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from Daniel Boone Struggling with the Indian
(the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.)
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from a Halloween costume magazine
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