Week 3: Residential Schools

     The residential schools that Native Americans were forced to attend have always been something that was covered really quickly in my history classes. It was maybe a paragraph or two out of a single chapter, sometimes with a picture of one of the children attending the school, and that was it. It was made to seem tragic, but not explored in a way that allowed me, or anyone, to really give any deeper thought to it. Lecture B was interesting and heartbreaking for this reason- I had never given much thought to that part of our nation's history. 

    To hear a first person account of what actually happened there was eye-opening. The story about the man who lost his whole cultural identity- including his name and language- was really tragic to hear. When I think of settler colonialism, I don't often think of America- usually European countries come to mind, but it's important that we learn these stories so we don't forget the people that our nation has harmed in the past. That's the first step in rectifying our history to me. 

    In fact, these schools and their story have been used for good. To hear that the schools still operate today, but in an entirely opposite way was nice to hear. I am curious how popular these modern residential schools that actually promote native American culture are. Are they funded well? Does the government aid them at all? They seem to be a good next step in overcoming settler colonialism- at least for now.

Comments

  1. Audrey SchroederJanuary 29, 2023 at 12:48 PM

    Hey Jalen, thanks for sharing. I agree with what you said - these boarding schools weren't really covered in my classes in a way that encouraged additional research about them. I was lucky enough to be able to conduct research about these boarding schools for a research paper I wrote. I found that research process really interesting and informative. I, too, am curious about the answers to the questions you posed, specifically if the modern residential schools are funded well/supported by the government.

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  2. Catalina DegnanJanuary 29, 2023 at 11:16 PM

    Hi Jalen, I completely resonate with your initial reaction to this topic. I think that residential schools are a part of Native history that is often covered very little by schools, so it was very eye-opening to be made aware of this past and get such a detailed retelling and first hand accounts. An interesting takeaway I got from the lecture was how different generations felt different effects from the residential schools (for instance a young boy versus adult).

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