Understanding the Origin of American Indian Boarding Schools | Antiques Roadshow
In years preceding the era of Indian boarding schools, under the doctrine of “manifest destiny,” the U.S. government was continually engaged in removing Native American tribes to take over their land, pushing them further and further west, and in battling those tribes that were resistant to being removed. By the late 1800s, assimilation became another tool the U.S. government used to address what mainstream America called the “Indian problem.” One tactic of the program of assimilation was making indigenous children attend boarding schools that forced them to abandon their customs and traditions, with the goal of having them adopt mainstream America’s beliefs and value systems.
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