Traditionally, Native American children were educated by their families and communities through a combination of hands-on instruction, gentle admonishment, and the passing on of tribal ethics and values through storytelling and ceremonial participation. Children were taught the responsibilities of kinship and respect for self and others so that one day they would become competent and contributing members of the tribal society. It was an educational experience marked by patience and consideration for each child’s unique abilities.
Euroamerican educational policies regarding Native Americans began to take shape in the 1870s when Congress allocated monies for the instruction of tribal children. Assimilation and detribalization were the goals of this educational program and the task of overseeing instruction went to various religious institutions and organizations. Though these schools were initially established as day schools, officials soon decided that a boarding school environment away from family and tribal community would be a more effective means of achieving their desired goals. By the close of the nineteenth century, mandatory boarding school was firmly in place and became a grim fact of life for many Native American children. When these children were taken from their homes, often at the age of six, the military-style methods employed by missionary and government boarding schools had devastating effects on them. Separated from their families, punished for speaking their native languages, ill fed and brutally treated, these children often emerged emotionally and physically scarred.
Personal courage, memories of family and home, and love for one another allowed these young Native Americans to endure and resist the efforts of those who meant to destroy their tribal identities.