Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 1993
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Committee Chair
Kent D. Richards
Second Committee Member
Karen Blair
Third Committee Member
Earl T. Glauert
Abstract
Separating Native American children from their people to train them for entering white society was seen by proponents as an alternative to extinction. Reformers implemented this goal by establishing off-reservation boarding schools like that at Chemawa, Oregon. Though their methods changed, the objective of assimilation remained constant. This case study argues that this emphasis was well-intentioned but flawed. Examination of a fifty year period reveals the unrealistic assumption that Native children would forsake their identity for another.
Recommended Citation
Smith, James Alan, "To Assimilate the Children: The Boarding School at Chemawa, Oregon 1880-1930" (1993). All Master's Theses. 1500.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1500
Included in
Cultural History Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons