In the White Man's Image

In 1875, Captain Richard Pratt escorted 72 Indian warriors suspected of murdering white settlers to Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. Once there, Pratt began an ambitious experiment which involved teaching the Indians to read and wri te English, putting them in uniforms and drilling them like soldiers. "Kill the Indian and save the man," was Pratt's motto.

News of Pratt's experiment spread. With the blessing of Congress, Pratt expanded his program by establishing the Carlisle Sc hool for Indian Students to continue his "civilizing" mission. Although liberal policy for the times, Pratt's school was a form of cultural genocide. The schools continued into the '30s until administrators saw that the promised opportunities for Indian students would not materialize, theat they would not become "imitation whtie men." Native Americans who attended the schools help tell the story of a humanist experiment gone bad, and its consequences for a generation of Indians.

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This file originated from Cultural Diversity Center.