In Jeannette Armstrong’s chapter “Sharing One Skin” of her novel The Case Against the Global Economy, she shares her perspective and how coming from the Okanagan Tribe has helped her bond with everything around her. Not only the Okanagan Tribe, but Armstrong addresses the connections that Native Americans feel tied to and how the “dominant” culture lives a different life from ours. The lands, the language, ourselves, and our communities make us up who we are. Yet, the dominant culture is detached and has no ties like Native Americans do. Armstrong discusses what happens to people who live without a community, a “heart”. It causes disharmony within the person and leads to self-destruction, lack of spiritual experience, and lack of making “generational bonds”. Regardless of what tribe or community, Native Americans will always and continue to carry that tie that makes them who they are.

The essay, “Who Gets To Tell the Stories? Carlisle Indian School: Imagining a Place of Memory Through Descendant Voices” by Louellyn White is a collection of responses based on a survey that asked descendants about their family’s experience attending Carlisle Indian School. Before the responses begin, White argues the importance of “descendant voices” and how the story from the generation before us becomes the next generation’s story. The reason reaching out to families is because there is no longer anyone alive who attended the boarding school. Only the descendants are left with the stories and experiences. The responses in the essay is a variety of the good and the bad experiences from attending the infamous boarding school. Some share positive aspects about attending the school which was getting an education and learning skills that helped them later on. Then, there are some who share the negative aspect in which the students were locked up in small jails for expressing themselves. However, White makes it known that it’s vital to understand what happened during the boarding school era and how it correlates with Native Americans today.

Reading the essay gave me the opportunity to broaden my perspective on the history of boarding schools. There will always be a different side of the story because everyone experiences it differently. Many of the native descendants explained how their grandparents, aunts, and uncles have changed from attending boarding school. Some of the other families sent them away to take advantage of the education system. Yet, some of the families only have memories of forcibly being taken away from their homes. What I gathered from this essay is that it’s still important to share the story or experience from the generations before you. As Native Americans, oral teaching has always been the main piece of our culture. Sharing stories can help define where you came from. It can bring you closer to your families, your culture, and what it means to be Native American.

The Meriam Report ended the era of assimilation and opened the doors to sovereignty for the Native Americans. After the discovery of the ill-quality treatment of the boarding school, the Indian New Deal was accumulated. During the time that the stock market crashed and the Great Depression, the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the New Deal that would bring relief to the government and the people that have suffered. For Native Americans, it was the Indian New Deal that focused on reforming the boarding schools and Native communities. The New Deal was made up of three pieces of legislation: the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), The Johnson-O’Malley Act, and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board Act. The IRA proved the most effective, gaining more land for tribes and reorganization of tribal governments. John Collier took charge of the policies-making and became Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He then proceeded to shut down the Indian boarding schools across the country deemed them as “grossly inadequate”. In the reading, One House, One Voice, One Heart: Native American Education at the Santa Fe Indian School by Sally Hyer, John Collier met with the Pueblo governors at an All-Pueblo Council meeting that was taken place in Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico. It states, “The governors did not want to see either Santa Fe or Albuquerque Indian Schools closed. To them, boarding schools, unlike day schools, offered an opportunity for their children to know other Pueblos and tribes and to learn a trade.” As the new policies took place, the environment and education system for the Santa Fe Indian School change to the point where students were willing to attend the school. Santa Fe Indian School remains a positive example of moving forward from the assimilation of the boarding school era.

Residential schools and their effects on indigenous children are still occurring around the world. The residential schools or factory schools in India strike an uncanny resemblance to the structure of the residential schools in the U.S and Canada. Over 27,000 children are taken away from their homes and turned from “liabilities into assets, tax consumers into taxpayers.” The tribal residential schools teach the kids to forget about their culture, language, and traditions. Instead, they force the kids to learn about consumerism and the benefits of mainstream society. In doing so, the students are forced to turn their backs on their parents and their ancestral backgrounds. According to the article, “There are Hundreds of Thousands of Indigenous Children in Residential Schools Around the World Today”, it states that, “Rather than erasing their knowledge, skills, languages, and wisdom through culture-destroying residential schools, we must allow them to be the authors of their own destinies as stewards and protectors of their own lands.” The Survival International strives to launch a campaign that will expose the residential schools in order to gain more control over indigenous education.

Before this assignment, I was already familiar with the events in Canada. However, I wasn’t aware of the same structure that was taken in place in India. India is a whole different country compared to the U.S. Even more so when it comes to its culture and traditions. Yet, they share the same traumatic pain as Native Americans. The residential schools in India share the same structure and mindset as the residential schools such as the Carlisle Indian School. The goal for these schools was to assimilate indigenous kids and strip away their identities. Like the Canada article, the events in India are bringing more awareness of the issues and how learning history can help understand the people that are affected. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that it has taken a long time for acknowledgment. In Canada, the abuse from boarding schools was still occurring in the 1990s. It was only in 2008 through 2018 that the government is beginning to make amends. Residential schools in India are still a major issue and most families aren’t offered lawyers to speak out about what’s happening to their children. I believe that the only way to speak out is the learn as much as we can and continue to share our stories