Weaves a Navajo elementary teacher's anecdotes from her own and her father's educational experiences with archival materials to provide a historical context for Navajo literacy. Discusses early written Navajo; the role of schools and churches in the expansion of written Navajo; and the advancement of Navajo linguistics during John Collier's…

Examines the diverse meanings of boarding school athletic competitions for Native American students, school administrators, and federal policy makers. Oral history accounts by former students reveal sports as a complex cultural practice whereby students variously, resisted an insensitive educational system, experienced pride or pleasure, and…

This book examines how government boarding schools were used for acculturating American Indian youth to "American" ways of thinking and living from 1875 to 1928. Based on government archives, student and teacher autobiographies, and school newspapers, this book proposes that the last "Indian War" was fought against Native American children in the…

This book reports on a study of the perceptions of Oklahoma American Indians about their childhood experiences in government and church-sponsored boarding schools. Drawing on symbolic anthropology, the boarding school experience is interpreted to be a complex cultural symbol and symbolic process that contributes to group collectivity and belonging…

This book provides an overview of the history of the Phoenix Indian School from 1891 through 1935. The Phoenix Indian Industrial Boarding School was founded for the specific purpose of preparing Native American children for assimilation. During its first 40 years, the school's main objectives were to remove Indian youngsters from their traditional…

The life story of Esther Burnett Horne records the memories and experiences of a Native woman born in 1909, who was both pupil and teacher in Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools. An introduction by Sally McBeth examines methodological and cultural concerns of collecting and co-authoring a life history. In Chapter 1, Essie begins with oral…

This book documents and comments on what is known about the Indian residential school era in Canada. The aftermath of this era has exacted a huge toll, both in the human suffering of First Nations and on Canadian society in general, but understanding the impact of residential schools can aid the healing process. Chapters are: (1) "Examining…

The Phoenix Indian School, which served as a coeducational federal boarding school for American Indian students between 1891 and 1990, was partially excavated in 1995. Drawing upon written records, books, student recollections, and the school newspaper, this report summarizes what was learned from the excavation about life at the school. The first…

As late as 1913, half of U.S. schoolchildren were enrolled in the country's 212,000 one-room schools--the heart of American education. Although only about 428 of these schools remain in use as of 1994, the country school continues to be a powerful cultural symbol. The first section of this book examines country schools' educational and cultural…

The social, cultural, and economic circumstances that have shaped the development of women's higher education are discussed. After considering colonial America when women were outsiders to liberal arts institutions, the creation of women's and co-educational colleges is traced and the process by which women of different ethnic, racial, religious,…

Based on structured interviews with Interlocken students, staff, parents, and alumni, this book presents a historical account of the international coeducational camp, Interlocken, founded in 1961, and its practice and philosophy of experiential education. Section 1 explains the innovative summer-camp/youth-travel mission of Interlocken and its…

Bloomfield Academy was different from other American Indian boarding schools. The Chickasaws had not been relegated to a reservation and had achieved a much higher level of autonomy, self-sufficiency, and independence than most other tribal nations. The Chickasaw Nation founded Bloomfield in 1852 not because the government demanded it but because…

This book draws on oral histories, interviews, and tribal records to document 111 years during which Cheyenne and Arapaho children were educated in White ways. Throughout the book, the feelings and experiences of the author and her great-grandmother, White Buffalo Girl, provide personal commentary on historical events. Chapter 1 provides…

Established in 1884 and operative for nearly a century, Chilocco Indian School (Oklahoma) was a federal off-reservation boarding school intended to assimilate American Indian children into mainstream American life. In contrast to previous studies detailing federal policy and practice in such boarding schools, this book draws on and analyzes…

This book and a related museum exhibition grew out of a student oral history project on the history of the Santa Fe Indian School, 1890-1990, and the role of the school in the development of Indian communities in New Mexico. Numerous interview excerpts and photographs portray life at the school during historical periods covered in four chapters:…