Indian Schools Attempted to Force Assimilation

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Indian schools attempted to force assimilation

By Keni Sturgeon

Special to the Statesman Journal Alfred Jones / Willamette Heritage Center Collecti Entry gate to Chemawa Indian School in the 1930s.

August 21, 2011 Willamette Heritage Center is a unification of Mission Mill Museum and Marion County The first "Indian School" in what became Oregon was begun Historical Society. The center is dedicated to by Methodist Missionaries in 1834 or 1835 (the date depends on what one counts as a "school") at their site at Mission telling stories of the people of who have lived Bottom — 10 miles north of present-day Salem. and worked in the Willamette Valley. For information, go to www.missionmill.org. Though the Methodist-founded Oregon Mission Manual Labor School shared similarities, it was not directly a precursor to the American Indian Boarding Schools the U.S. government created in the late 1800s. The collapse of most active Indian resistance in the late 1870s marked a shift in U.S. Indian policy from one of separation, which had founded the reservation system, to one of assimilation. According to this view, reservation life did little to prepare Native Americans for integration into white society. In response, reformers began a policy that would use off-reservation boarding schools to prepare Native American children for assimilation. Though some have noted the benefits of these schools, on the whole, the school experiences have been shown to have been traumatic for many of the children. They generally were forbidden to speak their native languages, taught Christianity instead of their native religions, and in numerous ways forced to abandon their Indian identity and adopt American culture. For some, their desire for their family along with strong discontent caused them to run away. At Chemawa, for example, there were 46 recorded "desertions" in 1921 and 70 in 1922. Punishment of runaways was harsh, and offenders became examples held up before their fellow students. Helma Ward, Makah, in an interview with anthropologist Carolyn Marr, recalled that "two of our girls ran away ... but they got caught. They tied their legs up, tied their hands behind their backs, put them in the middle of the hallway so that if they fell, fell asleep or something, the matron would hear them and she'd get out there and whip them and make them stand up again." Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded in 1879, was the first of these boarding schools. The second, Forest Grove Indian and Industrial Training School, was established on the Pacific University campus in Forest Grove in 1880. In 1883, it was decided to relocate the school. Factors that led to a search for a new site included local resistance to the school, a need for

1 / 2 more land to teach farming skills, and a fire that destroyed the girls' dormitory. An area near Salem was selected. On June 1, 1885, Salem Indian Training School (present-day Chemawa Indian School) opened five miles north of Salem. The first graduating class completed the sixth grade in 1886. Subsequently, courses were added through 10th grade. In 1900, Chemawa had 453 students and a federal budget of $57,183. Instruction was given in reading, writing and math, but the curriculum emphasis was on vocational training. A 1913 report shows there were 690 pupils enrolled, 175 of them Alaska Native. The report lists farming as one of the major areas of instruction. Students could participate in extra-curricular activities, such as basketball, baseball, football and band. By 1922 there were 70 buildings on the 40-acre campus, and the land area of the school had increased to 426 acres. 1926 saw the peak enrollment at the school, with nearly 1,000 students. Also in 1926, 11th and 12th grades were added, and grades below sixth were dropped. In 1927, Chemawa became a fully accredited high school. The school was threatened with closure in the early 1930s, but managed to remain open with about 300 students. This marked a major change in policy, as Native children were encouraged to attend local schools whenever possible. In the 1970s, the school moved to a new campus on adjacent lands. In 2005, Chemawa Indian School formed a partnership with Willamette University. Willamette undergraduates, along with Chemawa peer tutors, provide tutoring on the Chemawa campus. Keni Sturgeon is the curator and museum director at Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill