Education for extinction
Subtitle: American Indians and the boarding school experience, 1875-1928
By: David Wallace Adams.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Lawrence, Kan
Language: eng
Number of pages: 396
Subjects: Indian youth -- Education -- United States; Indian youth -- Government policy -- United States; Indian youth -- Cultural assimilation -- United States; Boarding schools -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Boarding schools -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Education and state -- United States -- History; United States -- Social policy; United States -- Race relations
Description: The last "Indian war" was fought against Native American children in the dormitories and classrooms of government boarding schools. Only by removing Indian children from their homes for extended periods of time, policymakers reasoned, could white "civilization" take root while childhood memories of "savagism" gradually faded to the point of extinction. In the words of one official, "Kill the Indian and save the man.".

Education for Extinction offers the first comprehensive account of this dispiriting effort. Much more than a study of federal Indian policy, this book vividly details the day-to-day experiences of Indian youths living in a "total institution" designed to reconstruct them both psychologically and culturally.

Based upon extensive use of government archives, Indian and teacher autobiographies, and school newspapers, it is essential reading for anyone interested in Western history, Native American studies, American race relations, educational history, or multi-culturalism.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-390) and index.