Settler Colonial Curriculum in Carlisle Boarding School: a Historical and Personal Qualitative Research Study
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Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 6-4-2020 Settler Colonial Curriculum in Carlisle Boarding School: a Historical and Personal Qualitative Research Study Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Elementary Education Commons, and the United States History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Eagle Staff, Patrick Gerard, "Settler Colonial Curriculum in Carlisle Boarding School: a Historical and Personal Qualitative Research Study" (2020). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5449. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7322 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Settler Colonial Curriculum in Carlisle Boarding School: A Historical and Personal Qualitative Research Study by Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction Dissertation Committee: Esperanza De La Vega, Chair Maria Tenorio Micki M. Caskey Kelly Gonzales Portland State University 2020 © 2020 Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff i Abstract This dissertation research study brings together a historical account and one scholar’s personal and family stories of how Indigenous children were stolen and sent to the first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools and tribal schools. In the case of the researcher’s family, the educational experiences at Carlisle Indian Industrial School immediately started a traumatic assimilation process on Indigenous children that instilled generational trauma for them and their descendants. At these schools, Indigenous children were forced to conform to a foreign European school designed to abolish their Indigenous identity that demanded they give up their language and culture to be successful in education. In this study, the researcher explored the history of settler colonialism within Indian boarding schools and its impact on the succeeding generations of students who first attended them. Through in-depth interviewing method (Seidman, 2006), 16 participants shared their family stories and perceptions of how Indian boarding schools were unwelcoming places of learning, where Indigenous children were forced to engage in an education system that had at its core, settler colonialism within its curriculum. The findings revealed how the student’s Indigenous identity became a factor in the student’s survival within the schools and was paramount in building the children’s resilience while undergoing assimilation into the White European immigrant society. ii Dedication Mi Tiwáhe (My Family) Aťeˊ, Akichita Naji – Standing Soldier - Sam Eagle Staff Inaˊ, Tho Wanzica Win - Blue Sky Woman - Katherine Eagle Staff Cinkśiˊ, Tatanka Waunsila - Compassionate Buffalo - Treston Eagle Staff Cunkśiˊ, Pte Mani Win - Walking Buffalo Woman - Kateri Eagle Staff Cunkśiˊ, Zinkala Zi Win - Yellow Bird Woman - Torrie Eagle Staff Cunkśiˊ, Tasunka Pejuta Win - Horse Medicine Woman - Ta’te Eagle Staff You have always believed in me and my dreams. My parents who made me resilient and even after their passing, I still try to make them proud of me. To my children although, I missed many times to spend with you and be fully there for you, I always valued your love and understanding because it sustained and nourished me. By completing this difficult task, I wanted you know that whatever you put your mind to is achievable and within your reach. Remember, “if you don’t take a chance you don’t have a chance”. To all my Tiwáhe and friends thank you for your support and generosity you have all contributed to my success in this program by everything you have done for me and my kids. I can’t thank you enough. Its truly an honor to live among such good and caring people. iii Acknowledgements Wopila Tunkasila for giving me the strength to complete my dissertation, without your blessings this wouldn’t have been possible. To all Indigenous People of Turtle Island who also fight to keep their identity throughout their education, make every effort to complete your studies so you can also go back and help your people. To my wonderful committee who all model Lakota values in their own special way. My chair Dr. Esperanza De La Vega who understood what I wanted and validated the issues which I believe affect Indigenous students. Your caring and compassion for all your students has helped more than just me be successful with PSU’s education program. My committee members, who provided critical feedback and guided me to do my best. Dr. Maria Tenorio whose wisdom was a great resource for me. Thank you for being that one powerful Indigenous resource within my program. Your presence and reassurance were invaluable in translating and making this program accessible to me. Dr. Micki M. Caskey who always encouraged me and was compassionate about my success even before I started my doctoral program. I have great admiration for you as a role model and as a professional educator. Dr. Kelly Gonzales who is a model of resilience and fortitude, your bravery in the face of overwhelming odds within education is always inspiring to watch. I value you as an Indigenous leader and advocate for our community. iv Table of Contents Abstract i Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1) Statement of the Problem 2 Building a Nation: Indigenous Genocide 3 Building a Nation: Subjugated Labor 9 Academic Achievement 13 Dropout Rate 14 Indigenous Student Graduation Rates 16 2) Introduction to Research Question 18 Chapter 2: Literature Review 20 1) Sociocultural Theory 21 2) Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) 24 3) Historical Background 29 Indigenous Liminal Status in America 30 U.S. Government Sanctioned Settler Colonization Methods 31 Indigenous Viewpoint on U.S. Policy and Educational Lies 33 United States Policy of Genocide 34 v National Settler Colonial Politics and Policy of Genocide 36 Settler Colonialism 38 Settler Colonialism: Assimilationist Curriculum and Lost Identity 42 Historical Unresolved Grief 44 Failure to Recognize Educational Oppressive Curriculum 47 European Ethnocentric Reasoning of ‘‘Civilization’’ 51 Captain Richard H. Pratt: Carlisle’s Initial Development 52 4) Intersection of Personal & Historical: America’s Unacknowledged 54 Genocide/Ethnocide Genocide: Wounded Knee 55 Genocide: Sand Creek Massacre 56 Genocide: Northern Cheyenne Exodus 59 Ethnocide/Genocide: America's Education on Arapaho Grandfathers 60 Ethnocide: Lakota Grandparents Forced Assimilation 63 Ethnocide: George Eastman’s Story of Identity Loss 65 5) Summary 66 Chapter 3: Methods 68 1) Qualitative Approach 69 2) Research Problem & Questions 72 3) Theoretical Framework 73 4) In-depth Interview Method 75 5) Participants 77 vi 6) Data Collection Process 79 7) Interview Questions 82 8) Researchers Role 83 9) Data Analysis 84 10) Summary 86 Chapter 4: Findings 88 1) Cultural Ways 89 Oral History 89 Language 94 Identity 102 2) Generational Trauma 110 Stolen 111 Trauma 114 Religion 127 Racism 130 Self-Respect 134 3) Logic of Elimination 139 Colonization Process 139 War Mechanism 146 Genocide and Ethnocide 151 Manifestation in the Curriculum 157 4) Summary 168 vii Chapter 5: Discussion 173 1) Purpose of the Study 173 2) Research Questions 173 3) Themes 174 4) Reflection on the Research Questions 190 5) Resilience 192 6) Recommendations and Considerations 198 7) Personal Reflection on Agency 200 References 204 Appendices Appendix A – 9 Tenets application to this dissertation 213 Appendix B – Family Tree for Patrick Eagle Staff 214 viii List of Tables Table 1 – Population of Native Americans 1850-1950. 8 Table 2 – ACE Demographic and Housing Estimates 2013-2017 15 Table 3 – Public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate 17 Table 4 - Participant Pair Selection Criteria 79 Table 6 – Themes from Data Analysis 86 Table 7 – Boarding Schools Participants have a Connection to or Attended 88 ix List of Figures Figure 1 – Turtle Island Image and North America Map 4 Figure 2 – Status dropout rates of 16- to 24-year-olds, by race/ethnicity and 15 sex: 2017 Figure 3 – Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for public high school students, 16 by race/ethnicity: 2016–17 Figure 4 – Carlisle: Icon of an Era 43 Figure 5 – Traumatic events leading to forced attendance of grandparents to 54 Carlisle Indian Boarding School. Figure 6 – Wokokipa Wakinyan (Afraid of Lightning) 56 Figure 7 – Nohne'kȧheso (Limpy) 57 Figure 8 – New Arrivals at Carlisle Indian Industrial School 60 Figure 9 – Ta-qua-wi (Sharp Nose) 62 Figure 10 – Wanbli Wapaha (Thomas) and Tipestula Oti Luta (Laura Eagle Staff) 63 Figure 11 – Wanbli Wapaha and Tipestula Oti Luta Family 63 Figure 12 – Wowaśi Chapa (Working Beaver/James Brown Dog) 64 Figure 13 – Recruitment of participants: Travel to various reservations in the 80 Midwest during summer of 2019 1 Chapter 1: Introduction The purpose of this study is to explore the history of settler colonialism within Indian boarding schools and its impact on the succeeding generations of students who first attended them. Specifically, this research aims to understand the educational perceptions of succeeding generations and the educational legacy left by their grandparents. I want to understand the cultural and historical effects that the boarding school system had on the future generations of the Indigenous children who attended them. The Indian boarding schools were established to assimilate Indigenous students and take away their Indigenous identity to be replaced with a European based one. The impact of these boarding schools was the destruction of a generation through an educational system with the false promise of caring for our children by bringing “civilization” to them.