BOARDING SCHOOLS

excerpt from ANNE'S WRITINGS (see Aug 31, 2010 This is lengthy but important info for understanding some ot the tests of Native Americans.

One of the most devastating parts of the Indian community is the boarding school experience by an overwhelming number of children, sometimes as young as four or five, and youth.  The first school was in Carlyle, Pennsylvania in 1879.  The Cherokee boarding school opened in 1880 and remained in operation until 1954.  This is about five generations of children.  It worked on the premise "kill the Indian, save the Man".  In other words eliminate all that made a child an Indian and make him/her white.  In the majority of cases the churches came into the villages and forced the parents through persuasion and eventually force to give the children to the churches for training and education.  Sometimes the parents were so poor they did not have the means to feed and care for their children and thought they would be better off in the schools.  Sometimes the children were orphans or abandoned.

The usual procedure at the schools was to cut off the hair, which had given the children a cultural sense of identity.  They were not allowed to speak their native language, observe any of their culturally-based activities or practice their religion in the ways they were used to.  Their names were changed to English names.  The punishment for disobedience was severe beatings.  Their normal native clothing was taken from them and they were placed in uniforms.  Their activities were directed by a series of bells, bells for waking, breakfast, prayer, classes,  lunch, classes, supper, and bedtime ruled their days.  Most of the children did not speak English so they were forced to learn it in order to survive from day to day.  They were also used as cheap labor to sustain the schools.

The children were only allowed to see their parents infrequently and only for short periods of time. There were several ways of coping with this physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual abuse.  Some were more resilient than others but all were traumatized.  Some tried to please, be obedient and "perfect", thus losing their own sense of identity.  Some fought back or ran away multiple times.  Others internalized the regimentation values in order to acquire greater acceptance from authority figures.  Some used exercises, boxing, and sports to try to sublimate the anger and confusion.  Some learned altruism as a way of lessening the harm of others in the situation.

After leaving the schools in their late teens, coping with the residual  trauma took many forms.  They had been taught alienation from all that their parents stood for and they felt shame at the old ways. They did not know how to parent, since they had no role models, therefore parenting skills were lacking.  Nurturing was unknown to most of them and therefore they did not know how to nurture.  Denial and minimizing of the experience blocked the healing process for a large portion of the survivors.  Some continued the militarizing aspects and joined the military to continue the pattern they were familiar with.  Alcohol, domestic violence, dysfunctional homes were patterns of a lot of the homes of these survivors.  It became an intergenerational pattern.

Later studies have shown that they suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome.  The high percentage of diabetes is a direct result of a constant state of "fight or flight" in which the adrenalin sugar present in this condition became constant.  This altered the normal processing of insulin, became imprinted on the DNA and passed on from generation to generation.

At the present time there are many helping organizations trying to aid in the healing process of the intergenerational problems.  The Healing and Wellness Coalition in Cherokee, on which I was allowed to assist, was one of these organizations.  We had a goal of facilitating the healing process by acknowledging the past, reviving the culture, offering a guide for them to trained psychologists, therapists, medical personnel and forming or supporting groups vested in this process.  The annual conferences are educational and therapeutic.

Cherokee has it's own school system.  They offer the Cherokee language and cultural information as well as a normal, state-approved curriculum.  A graduate from Cherokee High School must have completed at least one course in the Cherokee language.  There is a daycare system in which infants and toddlers are immersed in the Cherokee language in all their activities.  It becomes as comfortable as English.

Alcohol cannot be legally sold on the reservation, even at the casinos.  This is attacked regularly in referendoms but so far still holds.  The tribe's determination to control and heal this problem is taken very seriously.

The tribal council has set aside a plot of land to honor and memorialize the students who attended the Cherokee boarding school.  This will be developed as memorial in the future. At the present time there is a traveling exhibit displayed on panels showing pictures and information sponsored by the Kitowah Preservation Education Program.

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