Abstract
Compulsory boarding schools became the major vehicle for cultural genocide of the Indigenous tries in both the United States of America and in Canada. Born out of the Freedman experience following the U.S. Civil War, attempts were made to groom freed Blacks in the USA for a subservient role in American society - one where they would learn trades that provided services to the dominant White society. Part of this training was to “learn one’s place” as second class citizens. This model was then incorporated by the governments of both the USA and Canada to restructure their tribes by taking Indian children from their homes and placed in strict and punitive environments where tribal customs and languages were forbidden. The unintended consequence was that this process mixed tribes, many of whom were traditional enemies providing them with a new common aggressor - the federal governments of America and Canada. What resulted was the birth of Pan-Indianism and a new universal cultural identification along with mixed tribal events such as “Pow Wows.”
Presenters
Laurence Armand FrenchProfessor Emeritus of Psychology, Social Sciences Department, Western New Mexico University, New Mexico, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
RACISM, CULTURAL GENOCIDE, SELF-DETERMINATION, PAN-INDIANISM, BOARDING SCHOOLS, POW WOW'S
