Boarding Schools

Definition

Boarding schools are educational institutions where students live on campus, often far from their homes, and receive both academic instruction and residential care. These schools have played a significant role in the context of Indigenous Peoples and the process of colonization.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Boarding schools were widely used by colonial powers as a tool to assimilate Indigenous children into the dominant culture, often forcibly removing them from their families and communities.
2. The curriculum and environment of boarding schools were designed to erase Indigenous cultures, languages, and identities, replacing them with the values and practices of the colonizers.
3. Many boarding schools were operated by religious organizations, further compounding the trauma experienced by Indigenous students through the imposition of foreign religious beliefs and practices.
4. The legacy of boarding schools has had a profound and lasting impact on Indigenous communities, contributing to the loss of language, cultural traditions, and the disruption of family structures.
5. Boarding schools have been widely criticized as a form of cultural genocide, with many survivors and their descendants still grappling with the intergenerational trauma and its effects.

Review Questions

• Explain how boarding schools were used as a tool for the assimilation of Indigenous Peoples.
  • Boarding schools were a key component of colonial policies aimed at assimilating Indigenous Peoples into the dominant culture. By forcibly removing children from their families and communities and immersing them in an environment that sought to erase their cultural identity, language, and traditions, boarding schools were designed to strip away the unique cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples and replace it with the values and practices of the colonizers. This process of forced assimilation had devastating consequences, contributing to the loss of language, cultural traditions, and the disruption of family structures within Indigenous communities.
• Describe the role of boarding schools in the context of cultural genocide against Indigenous Peoples.
  • Boarding schools have been widely recognized as a form of cultural genocide, as they were used to systematically destroy the cultural, linguistic, and social fabric of Indigenous Peoples. By forcibly removing children from their families and communities and subjecting them to an educational system that sought to erase their cultural identity, boarding schools played a central role in the colonial project of undermining the very existence of Indigenous Peoples. The lasting impact of this trauma has been passed down through generations, contributing to the intergenerational effects of this cultural genocide and the ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous communities.
• Analyze the long-term consequences of the boarding school system on Indigenous Peoples and their communities.
  • The legacy of the boarding school system has had profoundly negative and long-lasting consequences for Indigenous Peoples and their communities. The forced assimilation and cultural genocide perpetuated through these institutions has led to the loss of language, cultural traditions, and the disruption of family structures, which has had a ripple effect across generations. The intergenerational trauma experienced by survivors and their descendants has manifested in a range of social, psychological, and economic challenges, including higher rates of substance abuse, mental health issues, and socioeconomic disparities. Addressing the ongoing impact of the boarding school system has become a critical priority for Indigenous communities and their allies, as they work to reclaim their cultural heritage, heal from the trauma, and build a more just and equitable future.

Related terms

Assimilation: The process of absorbing and integrating a minority group into the dominant culture, often by encouraging the adoption of the dominant group's language, customs, and values.

Cultural Genocide: The systematic destruction of a group's culture, traditions, and way of life, often through the forced removal of children from their families and communities.

Intergenerational Trauma: The psychological and emotional trauma that is passed down from one generation to the next, often as a result of historical oppression and abuse.