Skip to main content
WoLakota Project & Teachings of Our Elders

American Indian Boarding Schools

American Indian Boarding Schools — Lesson plan in the WoLakota Project and Teachings of Our Elders searchable archive.

Lesson plan · North Dakota · NDNAEU 5

Themes: Education & learning, Treaties & sovereignty, Boarding schools & assimilation, Culture & continuity, Racism & representation, Children & young people

View the original resource

Resource text

Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™ American Indian Boarding Schools NDNAEU 5 “Tribal Policies, Treaties and Sovereignty” Compelling Question What was it like to grow up in an American Indian Boarding School? Standards and Practices R1.2  Determine and analyze a theme and/or central idea of texts: W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Staging the Question Are the United States’ American Indian assimilation policies acts of racism? Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3 What is meant by ‘genocide’? What are acts of racism? Are you ethnocentric? Formative Performance Task Formative Performance Task Formative Performance Task Use the source to form your own explanation of what ‘genocide’ means. Use the source to create a list of examples of acts of racism. Use the source to determine whether you are ethnocentric. Featured Sources Featured Sources Featured Sources https://refusefascism.org/2018/01/29/what-is-genocide-according-to-the-un-and-international-law/ http://www.aclrc.com/forms-of-racism https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ethnocentrism SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Supported Claim (written/spoken) or Demonstration of Process (project-based) Read the source, http://www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing/planyourvisit/pdf/AIBSCurrGuide.pdf Imagine you were a child growing up in the American Indian Boarding School system, write an essay to describe your feelings (fears, anger, betrayal, loneliness, etc.).  Then explain how you would survive this ordeal. SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Extension Examine the culture of your school to determine whether assimilation practices are still in effect.  Write an essay to explain your findings and the reasons behind them. Taking Informed Action / Real World Application Develop steps you can take in your life, that you will teach to your children, to create a more equitable society in America.

Source materials