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Each year, during Native American Heritage Month in November, schools across the U.S. focus on Indigenous history. In Illinois, a new state mandate requires teaching Native American histories in classrooms, aligning with at least 14 other states that have similar requirements. This shift comes with the recognition that schools have historically played a role in the oppression of Native peoples, including through boarding schools designed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children.
The U.S. government’s educational policies aimed at Native communities date back to the early 19th century, starting with the Civilization Fund Act of 1819, which funded missionaries to teach Indigenous people European agricultural practices, gender roles, and the English language. These efforts sought to undermine Indigenous languages, cultures, and ways of life, framing them as inferior. This continued with the establishment of federal boarding schools, where children were taken from their families, stripped of their identities, and subjected to abuse.
As federal education programs for Native youth expanded into public schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Native students often faced isolation, racism, and misrepresentation. Textbooks portrayed Native people as violent or extinct, and students were expected to adopt white cultural norms. Despite these challenges, Native communities have consistently resisted this oppression, with advocacy for better representation in educational materials beginning as early as the 1920s and continuing through protests in the 1970s that led to the Indian Education Act of 1972.
While the federal boarding schools are the most notorious example of harmful education, public schools today still perpetuate violence against Indigenous students through the use of mascots and the erasure of Native history. Native educators and parents have worked to create educational resources that provide a more accurate and affirming portrayal of Indigenous life. By centering Indigenous perspectives, educators can combat the historical invisibility of Native people and contribute to creating more inclusive and just learning environments.
Learn more: https://time.com/7177131/native-american-schools-history/
