Indian Boarding Schools Unit Plan

Indian Boarding Schools Unit Plan

We Are Still Here

In the late 19th and 20th centuries, Indian boarding schools were developed to assimilate American Indians into the white American culture. White Americans claimed that this social institution was a perfect establishment through which American Indians could be taught and eventually learn to accept and participate in the white American society. Unfortunately, many of these boarding schools forced students to ignore, forget, and devalue their own culture and identities through new practices and traditions as well as punishment. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School established in 1879 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was one of the most prominent Indian boarding schools and will be the main example used in this unit. After having an overview of the purpose of Indian boarding schools and their composition, students will then get a chance to have an in-depth look at Carlisle Boarding School to help contextualize their previous knowledge. The final part of the unit will then focus on how with this information about boarding schools and the ways in which students were active citizens of resistance in the schools, American Indians today draw upon the experiences of their ancestors in efforts to preserve their own culture and heritage.

Evelyn Nkooyooyoo, Deborah Michaels

English

Unit

Late 1800s

Early 1900s