Interview · North Dakota · Charles Moran · NDNAEU 5 · NDNAEU 7
Themes: Language & revitalization, Kinship & family, Identity & belonging, Storytelling & oral tradition, Education & learning, Treaties & sovereignty, Boarding schools & assimilation, Spirituality & ceremony, Culture & continuity, Arts & expression, Children & young people, Humor & play, Intergenerational learning
Learn About questions
What are boarding schools? Who developed them? Why were they used?
Who is Captain Pratt?
What role does Carlisle Boarding School play in history?
How did Captain Pratt’s quote, “Kill the Indian, save the man” impact how boarding schools were run?
At what age did most children leave to attend boarding schools?
Why were many children unable to return home during the summers?
How did the experiences of boarding schools impact children in negative ways? Positive ways?
Why did many who attended boarding schools forget their language and cultural identity?
How did the disbanding of tribal chiefs in the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act impact communities?
Why was assimilation so important to the federal government?
In what ways were attempts to assimilate the native people accomplished? Unsuccessful?
Learn From questions
Did I ever go away from home for a period of time as a child? What was the experience like for me? How old was I when I had this experience?
Did my experience in school allow me to share my true identity? Were there ever things I felt the need to hide about myself to fit in?
How has my own education impacted me in positive ways? Negative ways?
Have I ever felt more distant from or less connected to my family after being away from them or learning about new things? How do I deal with that distance?
Are there things about me that feel assimilated? Why or why not?
Transcripts
NDNAEU 5 & 7 "Boarding Schools & Assimilation" with Charles Moran
Watch this interview on YouTubeBoarding schools they even a so art elders went to these original boarding schools Carla captain Pratt no there’s another one out there I think West Virginia or someplace I don’t remember quite where but they talk about that place like right around Dartmouth area we had Chiefs that left from here that went over there to check on our kids there they captain Pratt his famous saying is to kill the Indian save the man that’s what they did you know they and them stories came back there was a scheme there had to be a scheme I don’t I can’t say this is true but you look at it and you see that these kids left here when they were small in every one lot of didn’t come home in the summer they stayed there so when they came back they were very well educated kids and acted just like white kids didn’t know nothing about ceremonies anymore you forgot about bla those things they were brainwashed about the languages it couldn’t didn’t know how to talk to languages when they came home some of them remembered but you know 1934 when they when they took all our chiefs from us they disbanded our chieftains and said we’re gonna put this Indian Reorganization act together and give you a constitution and they paid these men $50 or whatever it was a month whatever to abide by this constitution and most of those guys that came from that were our first council we’re guys that came from the boarding schools that got put that was in there yeah when they tried you know I’m not saying bad things about him but it was change and the thing is that happened to our elders you know we’re still here we’re strong we’re getting stronger and languages are coming back now I said this and I’ve heard it said before that without language let me say it this way we are Native American people and if America wants it succeed by totally assimilating us he’s gonna take that language from us we’re not gonna be Native Americans anymore we’ll just be Americans so that is our fight we just don’t want to be Americans this is home this is this is ours
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Source materials
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