Health: Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools
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Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Grade 4 HEALTH Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Overview ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS • Identity Children’s literature, movies, and other media often • History perpetuate stereotypes, whether positive or neg- • Genocide, Federal Policy and Laws ative, in their representations of Native American people. This lesson encourages students to begin LEARNING OUTCOMES thinking about and questioning those stereotypes. • Students can articulate the value of cultural diversity and describe some ex- The lesson includes three activities, each of which amples of cultural bias and stereotypes. explores a challenging but important topic relat- • Students can describe how Indian ed to the experience of Native Americans in Ore- boarding schools were used to suppress gon. These topics touch on issues of history but Native cultures and to force Native are presented in the context of health because of American children to assimilate into their tremendous impact on the physical, men- mainstream culture. tal, and emotional health of Native people, past • Students can display an understanding and present. of the continued presence of Native Americans in Oregon, despite The first activity introduces students to the decades of cultural suppression concepts of bias and stereotyping. The second and forced assimilation. activity uses primary source photographs to ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS explore what it means to be “civilized” and how • What are cultural bias and stereotyping? Euro-Americans used this concept to dehuman- ize Native people. The third activity explores the • What is an Indian boarding school and what role did they play in the forced Indian boarding school system and the impact assimilation of Native Americans of cultural assimilation. in Oregon? The United States has a long-standing tension between the desire to preserve the cultural her- itage of its diverse population and the desire to create a homogenous “American” culture, often referred to as a “melting pot.” Native populations, however, have been outside such consideration. Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Grade 4 LOGISTICS STANDARDS • Where does the activity take place? Oregon health standards Classroom HE.2.4.8 – Compare positive and negative • How are the students organized? ways friends and peers can influence various relationships. Whole class Teams: 2 – 4 Pairs Individually HE.2.4.9 – Describe potential impacts of power differences (e.g., age, status or position) as they TIME REQUIRED relate to personal boundaries. Two hours Indians have weathered repeated attempts to re- MATERIALS place their cultural traditions and beliefs with those sanctioned by the U.S. government, such as federal What materials are needed for students to engage in this activity? programs removing them from their lands and the • Classroom meeting area where they can pair- destruction of their livelihoods and ways of life. share their thoughts, feelings, and wonderings This lesson introduces students to these difficult about the topic. but important topics. • Smartboard or LCD projector with which to project primary source photographs of board- Background for teachers ing school students. • Easel or chart paper to record student ideas. Most young children are familiar with stereotypes • Student journals. of Native Americans. Stereotypes are perpetuated by television, movies, and children’s literature when they depict Native Americans negatively, as uncivi- lized, simple, superstitious, bloodthirsty savages, or positively, as romanticized heroes living in harmo- ny with nature (Grant & Gillespie, 1992). The Walt Disney Company presents both images in its films for children. For example, in the film “Peter Pan,” Princess Tiger Lily’s father represents the negative stereotype as he holds Wendy’s brothers hostage, while in the film “Pocahontas,” Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools 2 Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Grade 4 the title character represents the positive stereo- type who respects the earth and communicates VOCABULARY with the trees and animals. Stereotype – A generalized picture of a person, Stereotypes are damaging, regardless of whether created without considering the whole person; they are seemingly positive or negative because to make such a generalization. Context: When they fail to convey the full complexity of Native we stereotype a group of people, we depict all individuals within that group as having the cultures and individuals. Stereotyping is a form same characteristics. of dehumanization that can lead to cultural bias, Bias – Attitudes or behaviors based on stereo- cultural suppression, forced assimilation, demoni- types of people. zation, or even genocide. Context – When we omit people of color in our In the late 1800s, the United States supported history lessons, we display a bias that suggests an educational experiment that the government that their contributions are not important. hoped would change the traditions and customs Perspective – Similar to point of view. The mental vantage point from which a person, of Native Americans. Special boarding schools were place, or idea is viewed. created in locations all over the United States with Cultural assimilation – Cultural assimilation the purpose of “civilizing” Native American youth. is the process in which a minority group or Thousands of Native American children were sent culture comes to resemble a dominant group far from their homes to live in these schools and to or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of learn the ways of Euro-American culture, such as another group. farming, land ownership, Christian beliefs, and the Indian boarding school – Also known as Indian concept of rugged individualism. residential schools, these schools were estab- lished in the United States during the late 19th While some students made lifelong friendships and to mid-20th centuries. Their primary objective managed to persevere, many struggled with lone- was to separate Native American children and youth from their families, communities, and liness, fear, and depression. The physical, mental, cultural traditions in order assimilate them into and emotional strain of being involuntarily cut off Euro-American culture. from one’s language, family, community, home, and cultural and spiritual traditions is impossible to overstate. In addition, many students lost their lives to the influenza, tuberculosis, and measles out- breaks that spread quickly through the boarding schools, while others endured physical and sexual abuse. The Indian boarding school system persist- ed well into the 1950s, and its repercussions are still felt in Native communities across the country. Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools 3 Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Grade 4 What teachers should do or review prior to delivering the lesson • Teachers should watch the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documen- tary “Unspoken” so that they have foundational knowledge to help students contextualize why Indian boarding schools existed and how stereotypes of Native people as “savages” contributed to a policy of assimilation: https://www.pbs.org/video/unspoken-americas-na- tive-american-boarding-schools-oobt1r/ • This brief New York Times video explores the concept of implic- it bias: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/ video/us/100000004818663/peanut-butter-jelly-and-racism.htm- l&sa=D&ust=1561317015577000&usg=AFQjCNHtunolPDyUzO81EnZ- PznbpuhpnYg • Another resource: http://nativeappropriations.com/ Resources The following resources provide more context about bias, stereotyping of Native Americans, and Indian boarding schools in Oregon and other states: • Oregon Historical Society’s Oregon Encyclopedia Project entry about Indian boarding schools https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/indi- an_boarding_school/#.XQWbTcR7mMo • Discovery Education in Canada provides grade-level lesson plan- ning that focuses on anti-bias and anti-racist education https://www. discoveryeducation.ca/teachers/free-lesson-plans/understanding-ste- reotypes.cfm • The Library of Congress teacher resource on boarding schools http:// www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/assimila- tion/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools 4 Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and the Effects of Boarding Schools Grade 4 Considerations for teachers Assessment Students will engage in a substantial amount of discussion with partners and groups. The teacher should actively monitor student discussion for correct understanding and should intervene when there are misconceptions or biases that could inhibit authentic engagement with this topic. Students should be assessed both formatively and summatively. The forma- tive assessment will consist of teacher observation of student participation in discussion and critical analyses that are produced through written journal entries and students sharing their writing. Practices • The teacher must understand how bias and stereotypes of Native people as “savages” contributed to the assimilationist education policy of manda- tory boarding school education for Native youth. • The teacher must be prepared to activate engagement strategies, such as think-pair-share and group discussion. Learning targets • I can explain how cultural bias influences stereotypes. • I can explain how Indian