How’s that for a motto? Not far from where I live is what used to be the Carlisle Indian Boarding School, which used that same motto—the ‘Indian School’ now houses the US Army War College (I think their motto is something like, “Kill the Enlisted Man, Save the Colonel”). The above ‘mission statement’ gives a pretty clear image of the view most people had toward native Americans: if we could just ‘un-Indianize’ them, there would be hope for them to enjoy life as “civilized” (read “educated, white) persons. Their differences invited ridicule and caricature—think of how natives have often been portrayed, especially in the books and movies of not-so-long-ago—all because of ignorance on the part of those who felt they knew best. In 1744, a group of well-meaning people from Virginia and Maryland offered to instill “proper culture and education” into the lives of natives by covering the costs for a group of young men from various nations to attend (more…)
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