Taken Away

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: What does it mean to assimilate?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• immemorial (p. 18)
• coerce (p. 19)
• assimilate (p. 19)
• coincide (p. 20)
• adjoining (p. 20)
• self-determination (p. 21)

3. Engage
Have students compare and contrast the photos on page 18, analyzing how the subjects’ appearances have changed in each photo. 

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about Native American boarding schools. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions and ask students to cite text evidence when answering them:

• What was the purpose of Native American boarding schools? How were the schools funded? (The purpose of the schools was to forcefully assimilate Native American children by stripping them of their cultural identities and educating them in the ways of White Americans. The schools were partially funded by the government with money made from selling stolen land, as well as with money that was supposed to go to Native American tribes as compensation for ceding their lands to the government.)

• What tactics did officials use to force parents to send their child to the schools? How were students treated while at the school? (According to the article, families were bribed, beaten, and starved to coerce them to send their children to the schools. When those tactics failed, some families were restrained and their children were forcefully taken. At the school, students reported being physically, sexually, and emotionally abused, as well as forced to do manual labor. Almost 1,000 students died.) 

• According to the article, why did the schools begin to close down in the 1930s? (The article notes that the closure of some schools coincided with the U.S. government completing its goal of taking Native American lands. The remaining schools were handed over to the Bureau of Indian Education or the tribes.)

• Who is Deb Haaland and why is she notable? (Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe. In 2021, she became U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American to serve in any cabinet position. She established the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, which includes an investigation of the boarding school system and a national listening tour for boarding school survivors.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF ‘We Could Hear Them Crying,’ which features an excerpt from Luther Standing Bear’s memoir, describing his time at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Discuss what makes the excerpt a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpt and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this excerpt from Standing Bear’s memoir? (The tone can be described as informational and melancholy. The purpose is to describe his and others’ difficult experience as the first group of students to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.)

• What main ideas about the school does Standing Bear convey through this excerpt? (The first main idea that Standing Bear conveys is that the school was not properly prepared for the students’ arrival, as there were no beds for the children, no blankets, and no fire. The second main idea is that the children were not properly fed and, even after meals improved, the food at the school was less than they would get at home. Finally, the third main idea is that the children missed their homes and cried for several nights.)

• What can the reader infer about the school’s treatment of the students from this memoir? Explain. (The reader can infer that the school’s treatment of the children was not good. The school was not prepared for the students and did not seem very concerned about their well-being. They gave them little food, nothing to sleep on, and nothing to welcome them or make them feel comfortable. The children were also kept in tight quarters, despite the school being large.) 

• Why do you think the author included the anecdote about the boys singing “brave songs”? (Students’ answers may vary, but they may say that this anecdote highlights how much the students did not want to be there, how much they missed their homes, and how poorly they were being treated.)

• According to the Upfront article, the 1819 Indian Civilization Act was meant to improve the condition of Native Americans. How does the primary source contradict this assertion? (This excerpt contradicts the assertion of the legislation because it shows that the children’s conditions were superior at home—where they were better fed and cared for—and that school administrators did not seem genuinely concerned for the children’s health or well-being.)

6. Writing Prompt
Use the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition’s online Interactive Digital Map of Indian Boarding Schools to locate the school closest to you. Research it and report on its history. List any questions you have.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Should the government return land to Indigenous peoples?

9. Dive Deeper
Have students read the rest of the chapter (“First Days at Carlisle”) from Luther Standing Bear’s memoir My People the Sioux. Students can then discuss what the chapter reveals about the author, the school, and life at the time.