This week in class we dug a little deeper into boarding schools. The video we saw really put it in perspective of how Pratt started up these schools with his military background. One thing that really caught my eye was when they would do before and after pictures of Indians going to boarding schools, almost as like a type of advertisement. What was interesting about this was the fact that the before picture made on Native look really dark and the after picture was almost like his skin was a different color. This was a way of showing the public how Indians won’t be Indians anymore if they come through these schools. This tactic could be described as propaganda.
Another specific story that really made me sad in class was when Professor McClung brought up how there were infants in the cemeteries right next to the boarding school. Why were they there? Because instructors at these schools would rape female Natives and cause them to become pregnant. It is also just very sad that there were cemeteries right next to boarding schools. It just shows you that the cruel punishment of Natives, in many cases, went way too far and caused them to die.
avestoll July 3, 2018
I found the photos to be really interesting as well. I thought it was a very interesting and intentional choice of the photographer to develop the images in such a way that it appears as if boarding schools not only changed the Native “savages” into more civilized people, but that they actually became more white. The images originally show Native children in their Native attire and atmosphere, and lead the viewer to believe that these people are dirty and unkempt. Then in the boarding school pictures Native children are depicted as clean, civilized people. They look more civilized by white standards, but they have lost touch with their cultures and where they came from. This is a truly sad thing.