Healing a Painful Legacy

“Kill the Indian and save the man.” I remember first reading those words in a high school class during a discussion of the terrible Americanization policies. The cultural violence of the phrase still shakes me, especially as a native of Washington with its rich indigenous history and no stranger to the tragic “before and after” photographs of “civilized” Native American children. Unfortunately, as the Seattle Times reported yesterday, that phrase still echoes its painful cadence in education and the legacy of Indian boarding schools.

“The boarding school era began in the late 1800s and continued at its most oppressive through the 1920s, when the federal government forcibly placed tribal children in the harsh, military-like institutions in an effort to assimilate them into the dominant culture. All things Indian — dress, language and beliefs — were forbidden. Affection was rare, punishment often severe. Some students were raped, many tried to run away and unknown numbers died,” wrote the Times.

The article goes on to show the lasting impact this systematic cruelty has made on the Native American community, including high rates of poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, depression and suicide. Most notably, it speaks to the generational loss of parenting skills due to the complete detachment of child from parent and the substitution of violent punishment from care-takers. This loss has also affected the learning and performance of struggling Native American students who have been raised in a tradition of understandable distrust for public education.

What struck me most about the article—despite the fact that it is rarely-mentioned—is that there are multiple groups in Washington and beyond attempting to heal this deeply felt communal wound surrounding childhood and schooling.

The Washington Tulalip tribe has begun to teach parenting classes that re-integrate the loving aspects of Indian parenting that were crushed by boarding schools. The UW is heading a $3 million health study to determine the factors—from cultural habits to past trauma—that relate to widespread heart disease among Native Americans. And the nation Board School Healing Project is working on documenting abuses so communities can seek restitution from the government and churches, in the form of laws and money to improve Indian education.

Perhaps the most powerful and healing element of the Indian boarding schools legacy, however, is the recognition of the story itself. Hopefully, the increased visibility of stories like these will alert educators and community members to the need for healing within the Native American community, as well as the lessons we can all learn from a culture’s past.