Education, Assimilation and the Limits of Empire: The Pueblo Indians and the Federal Boarding School Experience

Dr. John Gram, History instructor, will be discussing his research. 

During the late 19th century, the federal government opened schools at Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, as part of a nationwide campaign to assimilate the Native American population in accordance with the philosophy, "Kill the Indian, save the man." Due to a variety of factors, however, these institutions designed for assimilation and cultural genocide became sites harnessed by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico for cultural, social, political and economic self-preservation. Understanding why this took place gives us important insights into the history of US-Indian relations and highlights important ramifications for those relations today.   

Free