What does it mean to “kill the Indian” and “save the man”? How does that statement reflect US policy towards American Indian populations from 1860-1890, and what parallels can you draw between the treatment of Native Americans at the time and race relations today?

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PROMPT : What does it mean to “kill the Indian” and “save the man”? How does that statement reflect US policy towards American Indian populations from 1860-1890, and what parallels can you draw between the treatment of Native Americans at the time and race relations today? Comment by Allen, Jennifer: The prompt is restated, according to the directions.

Word Count: 798 Comment by Allen, Jennifer: The word count ONLY includes the actual words of the reflection – the heading, title, and works cited are NOT included!

The American government’s relationship with Native American tribes has been complicated from the beginning of the republic. Once the United States won its independence from Great Britain, the Treaty of Paris (1787) made no mention of relationship parameters with Native Americans and the new nation. Regardless of the past, the new nation could treaty with the tribes or take land by force. Moreover, tribal law was murky insofar as the leader’s ability to sign official agreements with foreign governments. Ultimately, “treaty-making ended as a whole in 1871, when Congress ceased to recognize the tribes as entities capable of making treaties” (National Geographic). Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Please note this paper is left-justified. The paper is NOT centered. Only the title and the “works cited” words are centered. This is important, so follow the rules. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: In text citations for anything quoted. And notice the quotes are integrated with the paragraph. Quotes should NEVER be standalone sentences.

Confusing and oft ignored policymaking between the United States and Native Americans culminated in the late nineteenth century as Anglo citizens pushed westward in search of land and new lifestyles. The post-Civil War era provided the United States with the opportunity to assimilate Native Americans into Anglo culture, and the easiest way to accomplish this task was through Indian boarding schools. As Captain Richard H. Pratt discussed in his speech, the goal was to “kill the Indian in him and save the man” (Pratt). Instead of physically killing anyone of Native American descent, Pratt posited efforts should be undertaken to remove the person’s Indianness and make them more culturally Anglo. As a former Civil War soldier in the Union Army, Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1879, where he ran it until he retired in 1904 (Johnson 120). The concept of the Carlisle Indian School was to “transfer the savage-born infant to the surroundings of civilization,” with the result being that the students will be filled “with the spirit of loyalty to the stars and stripes” (Pratt), because the student will have been indoctrinated into Anglo American culture. The man remained, but any Native American culture has been erased. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Required use of the primary source. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Paraphrased but still cited because I had to look this up. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: This answers the first question asked in the prompt.

Pratt’s statements in his speech reflected US policy towards American Indian populations for the latter half of the nineteenth century as “allotment and assimilation” (National Geographic) became the major focus of the government. No other piece of legislation spotlights the American attitude towards Native American populations than the General Allotment Act, better known as the Dawes Severalty Act (1887), allowing the United States Government to dismantle tribal lands. This helped American attempts to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream life (National Archives). The Carlisle schools were to “teach Indian students, some as young as four or five, industrial trades so they could be ‘useful members of American society’ and take that training back to their communities” (Yellowhorse Kesler). At their pinnacle, the Indian Boarding School system numbered 367, with more than seventy-three still in operation today (National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition). Comment by Allen, Jennifer: This is the second question asked so I placed it here to make sure I answered it and stayed on task. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Supporting and reliable information from reliable sources Comment by Allen, Jennifer: US policy – I used the Dawes Act because it is obvious and a legal support Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Comment made about Indian schools, and I must cite it because I did not know the exact numbers – or that there were some STILL in existence!

Although the Dawes Act was supposed to protect Native property rights, the opposite transpired. Many of the Native Americans who signed up for property and enrolled with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) were provided land incapable of sustaining crops and cheated out of their rights from a corrupt government entity. The land size allotted for each person was too small to sustain a family and Native Americans had no resources to invest in tools needed for farming startups, nor did they know how to farm by white standards. In addition, the BIA was completely inept at allocating land or maintaining equity amongst individuals. The Dawes Act, Indian Boarding Schools, and other government policies succeeded in annihilating Indian tribal culture, stealing over 60% of Native American land, and almost destroying the reservation system. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: The previous information provides support for the second question asked in the prompt. STAY ON TASK

Parallels between the treatment of Native Americans by the US government and the treatment of Black Americans can be drawn. The Fair Housing Act (1968) was necessary to pass so that non-Anglo people could purchase houses wherever they chose to do so; until that point, Black American housing options were restricted because of race. Relocating Native Americans to reservations and forcing them to live in specific areas of the country is the equivalent of Black American real estate options prior to 1968. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Third question in the prompt – modern day parallels. I chose Black Americans. You do not need to discuss every race, ethnicity, religion, etc.…choose one and stick to it. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: Because I know these facts (and let’s hope I do because I teach them – LOL) I do not need to quote anything here. If you do not know something and must look it up, you CITE the source.

Education has also segregated communities. Although not specifically relegated to boarding schools like Native American children, Black students were legally segregated by race until Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). Although the Brown decision was a watershed in its attempts to equalize the educational opportunities open to all American schoolchildren, forced busing because of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education (1971) had to transpire but did not address desegregation across district lines (Milliken v. Bradley) unless public school districts had expressly implemented segregationist policies. De facto segregation, like white flight to the suburbs, continued to reinforce segregated schools. Because of centuries of systemic racism and forced segregation towards both Native American and Black American populations, the results for both groups are eerily similar in that opportunities offered to Anglo-Americans were not available to others. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: I am a legal historian, so my support came from legal cases that I have studied. These are all common US Supreme Court cases any student would learn if they studied the American legal system. Comment by Allen, Jennifer: I have kept my opinions out of the discussion as best as possible because this is history. The prompt did not ask for your opinions.

Works Cited Comment by Allen, Jennifer: The Works Cited page is always a new page, regardless of how many citations you have. Please do NOT center the entire page – only the title. Citations are placed in alphabetical order by author. Government agencies are listed by the agency, as no one usually authors the item.

Johnson, N.R. The Chickasaw Rancher. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2001.

National Archives. “The Dawes Act (1887),” www.ourdocuments.gov, 6 December 1886. Accessed 14 February 2022.

National Geographic. “The United States Government’s Relationship with Native Americans,” www.nationalgeographic.org, 11 December 2019. Accessed 14 February 2022.

National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. “American Indian Boarding Schools by State,” in Healing Voices, Volume 1: A Primer on American Indian and Alaska Native Boarding Schools in the US. 2nd Ed. Minneapolis: The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, 2020.

Pratt, Richard H. “Kill the Indian, and Save the Man.” Official Report of the Nineteenth Annual Conference of Charities and Correction. 1892, pp. 46-59.

Yellowhorse Kesler, Sam. “Indian Boarding Schools’ Traumatic Legacy, and the Fight to Get Native Ancestors Back,” NPR.org, 28 August 2021. Accessed 14 February 2022.